Manx gambling company
Entain plc, formerly GVC Holdings, is an international sports
betting and gambling company. It is listed on the 🫰 London Stock Exchange and is a
constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.[2] It owns brands such as bwin, Coral, Ladbrokes,
🫰 PartyPoker and Sportingbet.
History [ edit ]
The company was incorporated in Luxembourg
in 2004 as Gaming VC Holdings.[3] It was founded 🫰 by a group of four American
businesspersons, led by Steve Barlow,[4] as a vehicle to acquire Casino-Club, an online
casino 🫰 established in 2001 that was reportedly the largest online gambling operator in
German-speaking countries.[5] The company made its initial public 🫰 offering on the AIM
exchange on 21 December 2004, raising funds that were used to complete the €105-million
acquisition of 🫰 Casino-Club on the same day.[6][7]
In 2010, Gaming VC was reorganised in
the Isle of Man as GVC Holdings.[8]
In 2012, GVC 🫰 and William Hill bought Sportingbet,
with William Hill taking the Australian and Spanish markets, and GVC taking the rest of
🫰 the world.[9]
GVC acquired Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment in 2024 for £1.1 billion
after a bidding battle with rival gambling group 888 🫰 Holdings, leading to a marked
recovery in GVC's financial situation.[10][11][12] After the acquisition, Bwin.Party
returned to growth after many years 🫰 of falling sales.[13]
In December 2024, GVC agreed
to buy Ladbrokes Coral in a deal which could be worth up to 🫰 £4 billion.[14] The
acquisition was completed in March 2024.[15]
In mid-2024 a shareholder rebellion forced
out GVC director, Peter Isola, after 🫰 reports showed that two executives at the company
earned a disproportionate £67 million in salary.[16]
In July 2024, GVC agreed to
🫰 aR$200-million deal with MGM Resorts International to capitalise on the newly
liberalised US sports betting market.[17]
In 2024, GVC chairman Lee 🫰 Feldman left the
company.[18] While Feldman was overdue to leave under UK corporate governance code that
recommends chairs of listed 🫰 companies not stay in position longer than nine years, the
news came two weeks after Feldman sold £6m worth of 🫰 his GVC shares and CEO Kenny
Alexander sold shares worth £13.7m, which led to GVC's share price falling nearly 14%
🫰 in a single day.[19] Barry Gibson took over as Chairman upon Feldman's
departure.[20]
In July 2024, Shay Segev, GVC's chief operating 🫰 officer (COO), succeeded
Alexander as CEO following his "surprise departure" after 13 years in charge.[21] The
same month, the UK 🫰 tax authority HM Revenue and Customs announced that it was widening
the scope of its investigation into “potential corporate offending” 🫰 related to GVC's
former Turkish-facing online gambling business, which it had sold in December 2024.[22]
GVC dismissed public reports that 🫰 the HMRC probe was related to insolvent payment
processor Wirecard, saying there was “no evidence of any link between the 🫰 HMRC
investigation and the payment service providers mentioned in the newspaper
report.”[23]
In December 2024, GVC Holdings changed its name to 🫰 Entain plc.[24] The
rebranding was said to reflect a "new era of sustainability and conduct", which also
included a commitment 🫰 to operate only in regulated markets by 2024.[25][26]
In 2024,
Entain's joint venture partner MGM Resorts made an offer to buy 🫰 Entain, valuing the
business atR$11 billion. The board and Segev rejected the offer saying, that it
"significantly undervalues the company 🫰 and its prospects".[27] MGM Resorts subsequently
withdrew the offer.[28]
In January 2024, Segev stepped down as Entain CEO and was
succeeded 🫰 by Jette Nygaard-Andersen, who became the first woman to lead a UK-listed
gambling company.[29][30]
In August 2024, Entain acquired US-based esports 🫰 betting
company Unikrn for £50 million.[31][32]
In November 2024, it was reported that Entain
had sold the Betdaq business, which had 🫰 been acquired by Ladbrokes eight years earlier,
back to its original founder Dermot Desmond. The sale price was reportedly
substantially 🫰 less than £25 million the company was originally acquired for.[33] Also
in November 2024, Entain sold its InterTrader business to 🫰 Raven Ventures
International.[34][35]
In February 2024, Entain acquired the Canadian sports betting
operator Sports Interaction from Avid Gaming for £175 million.[36][37]
In 🫰 November
2024, Entain acquired the Croatian sports betting company, SuperSport.[38][39]
In
January 2024, Entain acquired the Dutch online gambling company, BetCity, 🫰 from Sports
Entertainment Media for £398 million.[40]
In December 2024, Nygaard-Andersen stepped
down as Entain CEO and was succeeded on an 🫰 interim basis by Stella David, a
non-executive director of Entain.[41]
Operations [ edit ]
Entain is headquartered in
the Isle of Man 🫰 and has licences in more than 18 countries. The Group employs over
2,800 employees and contractors in locations across Europe, 🫰 Oceania, Asia, North and
South America.[42]
Entain-owned brands [ edit ]
Entain operates consumer-facing brands
in the online gambling industry, including:
Sports labels 🫰 [ edit ]
Betboo [ edit
]
Betboo was established in 2005 and provides online bingo, sportsbook, casino and
poker to South 🫰 American customers. It was acquired by the GVC Group in July
2009.[43]
BetMGM [ edit ]
In July 2024, GVC announced a 🫰 50/50 joint venture with US
Hotel and Casino operator MGM Resorts International to create a sports betting and
online gaming 🫰 platform targeting the U.S. market in states where such activities are
legal.[44]
bwin [ edit ]
bwin is Entain's main sports betting 🫰 brand in continental
Europe. Its core markets include Germany, Italy, Spain, France and Belgium. As well as
sports bets, bwin 🫰 has a variety of table and slot casino games as well as online poker
where licensed to do so. The 🫰 bwin brand has been associated with sponsorship of a
number of football teams including Real Madrid,[45] A.C. Milan, Bayern Munich,
🫰 Manchester Utd and Juventus.[46][47][48][49] The brand currently sponsors four Spanish
La Liga clubs: Valencia CF, Villarreal CF, Sevilla FC and 🫰 Atlético Madrid.[50]
In
February 2024, GVC Holdings was fined £350,000 by the UK Gambling Commission for
repeated failings from ElectraWorks Limited. 🫰 The company was punished for infringements
relating to the advertising of free bets and bonus offers.[51]
Gamebookers [ edit
]
Gamebookers is 🫰 a full-service sportsbook that was initially acquired by PartyGaming
in 2006.[52] GVC then acquired the brand in February 2024 as 🫰 part of the acquisition of
bwin.party.[53]
Ladbrokes & Coral [ edit ]
As of 29 March 2024, GVC Holdings took over
the 🫰 Ladbrokes Coral Group. This included their UK bookmaker estate, a new business for
GVC bringing the two customer brands Ladbrokes 🫰 and Coral into the corporate
portfolio.[14]
Neds [ edit ]
Neds was established in 2024 and serves the Australian
sports betting market. 🫰 It was acquired by GVC in 2024 forR$A95 million.[54]
Sportingbet
[ edit ]
Sportingbet was established over 15 years ago in 1998 🫰 and was acquired by GVC
in March 2013. It provides online and mobile sports betting, casinos, games and poker.
In 🫰 October 2012, Sportingbet announced that it had agreed to preliminary terms for a
£530 million takeover bid from both GVC 🫰 and William Hill. Under these terms,
Sportingbet's Australian and Spanish operations were bought by William Hill.[55]
Games
labels [ edit ]
partypoker 🫰 [ edit ]
partypoker was founded in 2001 and in the early
2000s was the world's largest online poker site. The 🫰 company's US-driven revenues were
hit by the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in the
United States. 🫰 The company merged with Austrian sport's betting company bwin in 2011,
and was acquired by GVC in 2024.[56] In 2024 🫰 partypoker launched a windows mobile app
and saw significant growth after bwin.party was acquired by GVC in the same
year.[57][58] 🫰 In 2024, the partypoker brand was placed under the control of GVC's
BetMGM joint venture.[59]
partycasino [ edit ]
Following the 2011 🫰 merger of PartyGaming
PLC and bwin Interactive Entertainment AG, partycasino became one of GVC's leading
casino brands.[60]
CasinoClub [ edit ]
CasinoClub 🫰 was originally launched in 2001 and
acquired by GVC in 2004, it largely operates in German-speaking markets and has more
🫰 than 15,000 active customers.[61]
Gioco Digitale [ edit ]
Gioco Digitale was the first
fully regulated gambling site on the Italian market 🫰 launched in 2008. It has positioned
itself as a gambling portal for casual users, with a focus on bingo and 🫰 casino
products. The company was originally acquired by bwin Interactive Entertainment AG in
2009.[62]
Cashcade [ edit ]
Cashcade Ltd is a 🫰 UK-based online gambling marketing
company that is now a wholly owned subsidiary of GVC Holdings. Cashcade was originally
acquired by 🫰 PartyGaming PLC in July 2009.[63] The company became part of the GVC group
when it was purchased as part of 🫰 the acquisition of bwin.party digital entertainment in
February 2024. Cashcade owns FoxyGames, FoxyBingo and CheekyBingo.[64]
Foxy Bingo [
edit ]
This online 🫰 bingo site was first launched in 2005 and the brand is owned by
Cashcade. During its advertising history it has 🫰 had many campaigns featuring Foxy - a
human-sized fox mascot. He wears a smart suit and has a northern accent. 🫰 Throughout its
brand history, there have been several celebrity tie-ups including with Katie Price and
Joey Essex.[65][66]
Foxy Games [ edit 🫰 ]
Foxy Games was established in April 2024 as
Foxy Casino and is the slots-led counterpart of its sister brand Foxy 🫰 Bingo.[67][68]
