REUTERS: Entain, a British betting company, is tripling its investment in game development studios as it shifts its attention to online betting following the closure of hundreds of high-street betting stores. Entain, which owns brands like as Ladbrokes, bwin, and Coral, will announce the changes later on Thursday, including a 300-person increase in staffing at its in-house studios in the UK, Italy, and India.
Jette Nygaard-Andersen, the company’s newly appointed CEO, said original online content would be a key element of her strategy, comparing the company’s efforts to Netflix’s pursuit of original material to entice consumers.
“In the markets we’re already in, we want to give them more options, and we want to provide new experiences to reach out to new customers,” she told Reuters.
The closing of hundreds of Ladbrokes retail outlets, which have been a fixture on British high streets for decades, is symptomatic of the industry’s inexorable migration to online, which has been accelerated by 18 months of lockdowns.
Entain, which attracted 4 million online clients last year, is also recovering from the collapse earlier this year of a purchase by MGM Resorts International, a U.S. casino operator, after the two sides couldn’t agree on valuations.
The FTSE-100 company did not say how much it was investing, but it did say that the new content will feature free-to-play slots tournaments and a sports-themed virtual reality product that would be available later this year.
Entain is also exploring new markets and developing gambling products for e-sports fans, many of whom are millennials, according to Nygaard-Andersen.
“On top of those we’re in today, we’re looking at roughly 50 areas that are becoming completely regulated that we may enter into,” she said.
(In Bengaluru, Muvija M reported; Patrick Graham and Maju Samuel edited)/n
