Entain declares that it is meeting its operational and commercial challenges amid a drastically changing economic environment for global gambling PLCs.
Group leadership is pleased with a strong first half to 2026 trading, with a 5% increase in net gaming revenues (NGR) to £2.55bn (H1 2025: £2.37bn).
Headline growth is above corporate expectations as period trading sees Entain proclaim both online (+7% on a constant currency basis) and retail growth (+1%) on a group-wide basis.
Group NGR gains were primarily attributed to improved online results in the UK & Ireland (+13%), Australia (+13%) and Canada (+11%), supported by stronger player engagement and product enhancements around the World Cup.
UK&I benefited from double-digit growth across sports and gaming, while Australia continued its turnaround through revamped Ladbrokes and Neds sportsbook products for the World Cup, improved Bet Builder and app experiences, with Canada maintaining double-digit online momentum.
In Europe, Entain lauds Spain as its fastest-growing online market, recording a 28% NGR increase on a constant-currency basis.
Stella David, Chief Executive Officer of Entain, said: “I am pleased with Entain’s start to 2026 with strong momentum and volume growth continuing as well as strong player engagement across the Group throughout the World Cup tournament.
“This performance reflects our strengthening operations and focused execution which reinforces the resilience of our globally scaled business and its ability to consistently deliver high-quality growth.”
Tax man smacks EBITDA
Top-line growth did not fully translate to bottom-line earnings as group underlying EBITDA declined 2% to £479.3m (H1 2025: £488.7m). Management cited higher gambling duties in the UK and other international markets as the main reason for the EBITDA decline.
Entain’s corporate tax charge increased sharply to £57.8m from £19.5m, with its underlying effective tax rate rising to 34.4% from 30.3%.
Accounts detail that group tax receipts more than doubled to £93.1m from £42m.
As anticipated, the principal headwind was attributed to the application of the UK’s new remote gambling tax regime (RGD tax) as of April 2026.
H1 accounts saw underlying operating profits fall by 10% to £318.9m from £352.4m, whist Group operating profit declined to £131.9m from £146.5m.
Period trading accounted for a squeeze on gross profit margins that were reduced to 60%.
Despite an expected decrease in marketing this year due to international tax burdens, Entain actually chose to increase advertising and marketing expenditures to £16m during the World Cup.
Entain additionally booked £187m of separately disclosed items from continuing operations, compared with £208m in H1 2025.
These included £96.1m in legal and onerous contract provisions driven by an increased provision for German player claims alongside £33.9m of acquired-intangible amortisation, £30.3m of contingent consideration movements and a further £16m tied to technical upgrades of Project Romer.
Despite these pressures, leadership points to a significantly improved bottom line. Entain recorded a pre-tax profit of £46.4m compared with a £66.3m loss in H1 2025, while its loss after tax from continuing operations narrowed to £11.4m from £85.8m.
David commented: “Entain is becoming a sharper, fitter, and better connected business. I am confident our disciplined focus on growth and optimisation will deliver strong future cash-generation, and that Entain remains well positioned to be a long-term industry winner.”
Brazil… Que pasa!
The market of Brazil is highlighted as a clear commercial weakness , as NGR declined 25% on a constant-currency basis.
Entain attributed the decline partly to highly adverse Q1 sports margins and an intensely competitive and promotional market, although underlying engagement showed improvement as H1 sports wagers increased 10%.
Management maintains a disciplined approach to Brazil, prioritising returns rather than competing purely on marketing spend and share of voice.
Sportingbet remains central to Entain’s overall strategy as the group seeks to improve player KPIs across sports betting and gaming.
Cash is king in CEE divestment
Alongside H1 trading, Entain is proceeding with the first stage of its phased withdrawal from Central and Eastern Europe.
The group has agreed to sell an initial 20% interest in Entain CEE to joint-venture partner EMMA Capital for €425m, implying an enterprise valuation of approximately €2.1bn for the business.
CEE generated £269m in H1 NGR and £95m in underlying EBITDA and is now reported as a discontinued operation. The division continues to be led by SuperSport and STS, which retain number-one market positions in Croatia and Poland respectively.
Completion of the initial transaction is expected in early Q4 2026, with Entain intending to use proceeds from its eventual full exit to reduce Group leverage below 3x before returning excess capital to shareholders.
Closing H1, Entain remains confident and comfortable with its FY2026 guidance. The Group maintains its target for online NGR growth of 5-7% on a constant-currency basis and underlying EBITDA of £910m-£960m, while expecting an online EBITDA margin of 21-22% and mitigating approximately 25% of the impact of the increased UK online gambling tax during 2026.
Entain further maintains its longer-term target of generating £500m in annual adjusted cash flow from 2028, as leadership continues to balance growth, tax mitigation, debt reduction and shareholder returns.
