The share price of Entain (ENT) clicked into reverse earlier this week after the sports-betting and gaming group revealed that its North American division expects to post a loss for the full year. BetMGM, a joint enterprise between Entain and MGM Resorts International (US:MGM), reported an adjusted half-year loss of $123mn (£96mn).
Management stressed that BetMGM’s interim performance wasn’t altogether surprising given the intensified focus on marketing. Adam Greenblatt, chief executive of the joint venture, said that “2024 is a year of investment”, and that the business has “exceeded [its] goals for both acquisition and retention, which should lead to higher year-over-year revenue growth for the second half of this year into 2025”. He may have a point; net revenues eclipsed the $1bn mark with growth accelerating through the second quarter. And the prospect of a second regulatory-light Trump presidency probably wouldn’t hurt sentiment.