2024 was a year of significant strategic progress for Entain. This was delivered by our clear focus on improving operational execution, and enhancing our customer offering – in many respects – going back to basics.
This is my first Annual Report as Entain’s Non-Executive Interim Chair, having been asked by the Board to take on the role in February 2025, following Gavin Isaacs’ stepping down as CEO, by mutual consent. I am delighted that our Non-Executive Chair Stella David agreed to resume the role of Interim CEO while we seek a permanent successor.
The Group is very fortunate to have in Stella, a leader who not only has the experience and expertise to continue the execution of our transformation story, but has also proven to be a successful leader for Entain. In her previous period as Interim CEO Stella worked closely with the Board and leadership team, and was very much the key architect of Entain’s refocused strategy to deliver organic revenue growth; margin expansion and market share gains.
I am pleased to report that this strategy is working. Our strategic goals are already bearing fruit, with significant financial and operational improvements evident across the Group.
THE BOARD AND I ARE FULLY ALIGNED IN OUR BELIEF WE HAVE THE RIGHT STRATEGY, AND SHARE COMPLETE CONFIDENCE IN STELLA AND HER LEADERSHIP TEAM.
Organic revenue growth
Acquisition and retention of customers is critical and it has been pleasing to see continuing growth in active customers and their engagement in response to our efforts. Particularly important was returning to growth in two of our “must win” markets of the UK and Brazil.
Margin expansion
Our actions to simplify our structure and operating model are continuing at pace, with Project Romer – our efficiency programme – enabling us to be more agile and effective, while also delivering cost savings. We continue to focus on margin expansion with clear opportunities to reinvest the capital into our products and services to drive further scale benefits.
Market share gains
Growth in the US market has been a key strategic priority for Entain. 2024 was a year of investment for our t venture, BetMGM, where we have improved our product offering, enhanced player experiences, refined our customer acquisition and marketing, as well as starting to benefit from the compelling omnichannel opportunities that BetMGM’s heritage brings.
The Board and I are fully aligned in our belief that we have the right strategy, and share complete confidence in Stella and her leadership team to accelerate the execution of this strategy to deliver meaningful returns for all of our stakeholders.
Financial performance
The performance of the Group during 2024 improved as the year progressed and clearly illustrates the turnaround of the underlying business. We closed 2024 in line with our upgraded expectations, which we had twice upgraded during the year, reflecting our stronger than anticipated performance and increasing confidence for the balance of 2024.
