ENTAIN Share Price Rises 50% in the last Six Months!

[Chief Stipe]

Betr’s high-profile takeover battle for PointsBet may not be its only corporate play, with reports linking the wagering group to potential interest in Entain’s Australian operations.

According to the Australian Financial Review, betr chairman Matt Tripp and chief executive Andrew Menz recently held a series of meetings in London with senior Entain executives. The discussions are understood to have canvassed the future of Entain’s local business, which includes the well-established Ladbrokes and Neds brands.

While the talks were described as informal and no agreements have been reached, the move underscores betr’s ambition to expand its footprint in the Australian betting landscape, even as its pursuit of PointsBet remains ongoing.

 

Neither Betr nor Entain has confirmed formal talks, but reports in the Australian Financial Review suggest discussions are being taken seriously.

 

Betr has established itself as a challenger brand through technology-driven offerings and marketing aimed at younger punters.

Betr founder Matt Tripp, widely credited with reshaping Australia’s betting landscape through earlier ventures including Sportsbet and BetEasy, has sought to replicate his past success with Betr by blending innovation with aggressive growth strategies.

Under his leadership, the company has become one of the most closely watched operators in the sector.

Entain, listed in London and valued at roughly £5.7bn, is one of the world’s largest wagering companies.

Best known for its ownership of Ladbrokes and Neds in Australia, the group has built a substantial presence across the region. Its collaboration with TAB NZ in New Zealand underscores its ambition to maintain a dominant position in both markets.

 

For Betr, the potential acquisition offers a chance to accelerate expansion by inheriting an established customer base and operational infrastructure.

 

Acquisition would give Betr more clout

The addition of Ladbrokes’ strong brand recognition would instantly elevate Betr’s profile, providing a significant boost to its market share.

Such a move would represent a pragmatic step for a company that has ambitions to compete with the largest operators on scale rather than niche alone.

Reports indicate that Tripp, together with Betr CEO Andrew Menz, has held meetings with Entain executives in London to explore a carve-out of the Australian and New Zealand arms of the business.

Whilst the details remain uncertain, such engagement suggests that preliminary talks are underway.

The onus now lies on both sides to determine whether financial and regulatory conditions can be met to progress a deal.

The prospect of Betr acquiring Entain’s Australian division highlights a broader consolidation trend within the country’s wagering industry.

This is especially true in terms of Australia’s gaming assets, with other M&A activity surrounding the country’s PointsBet and Ainsworth Game Technology still being debated.

[Newmarket]

NZ TAB should have teamed up with Matt Tripp rather than Entain…. The guy knows the Australian & NZ gambling environment….i can see the deal getting done…. Would be funny if i am back punting with Sportsbet soon 🤣🤣🤣

[Chief Stipe]

1 hour ago, Newmarket said:

Here ya go Chief….

This is fake news by the likes of it but I wouldn't expect anything else from you @Newmarket.

The facts are that then AUS and NZ ENTAIN assets are worth over NZD$2 billion.  The "annual loss" that you quote represents an impairment charge that has devalued the assets of the AUS and NZ business.  In fact revenue and profit was still up in AU and NZ but didn't match expectations and were affected by the increases in Point Of Consumption charges and other factors that notably affected ALL agencies in Australia.

A further charge was put against the accounts for the AUSTRAC case.

In comparison BETr had a $14m dollar loss and has an net tangible asset value of $105m.  Which is roughtly 5% of the ENTAIN AU and NZ operations.

Please read the respective reports attached and come back with an informed opinion.  Perhaps it could be a reverse takeover by ENTAIN of BETr!!

 

BETR Entertainment Limited - Appendix 4E and FY25 Annual Report (BBT-AU).pdf Entain_Annual_Report_2024.pdf

[Newmarket]

WTF…. 
it was on FB, how the hell have i posted FAKE NEWS…. your starting to sound like Trump!! 
 

Anyway… i have made a few enquiries across the ditch… its certainly real, Matt Trip seems to get what he wants. 
 

Instead of your copy & paste stuff again…. maybe offer your views on how this will affect NZs TAB & Betcha if a merger did happen, previously in Australia these takeover’s and merger’s happen quick. 

[Chief Stipe]

31 minutes ago, Newmarket said:

WTF…. 
it was on FB, how the hell have i posted FAKE NEWS…. your starting to sound like Trump!! 
 

Ok you copied Fake News.

 

[Chief Stipe]

31 minutes ago, Newmarket said:

Anyway… i have made a few enquiries across the ditch… its certainly real, Matt Trip seems to get what he wants. 

Where's he going to find the $2b from?  He gets closing punters down and reneging on bets!!

[Chief Stipe]

37 minutes ago, Newmarket said:

Instead of your copy & paste stuff again…. maybe offer your views on how this will affect NZs TAB & Betcha if a merger did happen, previously in Australia these takeover’s and merger’s happen quick. 

Ditto.  You go first.

Actually not ditto as I've posted my opinion on your copied post.

[mikeynz]

Heaps and heaps of fake stuff on Facebook, but , in the gambling company world, takeover, sell outs are common, so who would know what to believe.

[Chief Stipe]

6 minutes ago, mikeynz said:

Heaps and heaps of fake stuff on Facebook, but , in the gambling company world, takeover, sell outs are common, so who would know what to believe.

There seems to be some truth in BETr talking to ENTAIN but the question is where will the money come from when BETr is worth $100m and made a loss of $14m in the last year.

[Newmarket]

It seems raising money has never been hard for Tripp….. how he turned around Sportsbet and others obviously impressed investors. 
 

When Betr started, think he offered new account holders to punt horses on Melbourne Cup at $100 to 1, from memory max bet $10. Crazy really, but certainly got new punters on board, was up for $50m if fav won… luckily it didnt. 
 

I suppose like everyone, we are all asking what would happen if Entain did exit NZ….I have no idea how it would pan out. I suppose NZ asked for it… giving full control of TAB to Entain.

[curious]

Well that post is certainly not accurate. As @Chief Stipe points out, those aren't operating losses, but accounting valuation write downs and I'm not clear what the $100m guarantee they are talking about is. That has already been paid if it's the additional payment due to the online monopoly legislation.

I can't really see why Entain would want to exit either market though as mentioned anything could happen. As also mentioned any such transaction is dependent on financial and regulatory conditions being met and we don't really know what is contracted in that regard wrt the NZ situation and I can see why Betr would be interested in exploring the possibility.

[Chief Stipe]

27 minutes ago, Newmarket said:

It seems raising money has never been hard for Tripp….. how he turned around Sportsbet and others obviously impressed investors.

You haven't done your homework.  One week you are moaning about punters getting screwed by ENTAIN then the next week you are spruiking someone who right royally screwed punters over.

[Chief Stipe]

30 minutes ago, Newmarket said:

When Betr started, think he offered new account holders to punt horses on Melbourne Cup at $100 to 1, from memory max bet $10. Crazy really, but certainly got new punters on board, was up for $50m if fav won… luckily it didnt. 
 

Didn't you read the reports about how accounts were closed to avoid paying out?

[Chief Stipe]

33 minutes ago, Newmarket said:

I suppose like everyone, we are all asking what would happen if Entain did exit NZ….I have no idea how it would pan out. I suppose NZ asked for it… giving full control of TAB to Entain.

ENTAIN doesn't have full control.  It is overseen by a Statutory Body called TABNZ.

TABNZ.org.nz

In 2023, TAB NZ entered a 25-year strategic partnering arrangement with Entain NZ, delegating the functions of betting and broadcasting. TAB NZ remains the regulatory body responsible for overseeing Entain NZ, and the partnering agreement will guarantee record funding to New Zealand racing and sports.

Divesting the NZ business isn't as straightforward as you infer.  

I don't see ENTAIN giving $2b of assets away nor $1b of annual revenue.

[Chief Stipe]

So @Newmarket was BETr one of your plethora of OZ agencies you had an account with?  How much better were they than ENTAIN?

[Newmarket]

7 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said:

Didn't you read the reports about how accounts were closed to avoid paying out?

I remember some saying they didnt get paid, but i also know some that opened up accounts under other family members names from same address….i know a couple that did🤣🤣, so no they didnt get paid

[Newmarket]

4 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said:

So @Newmarket was BETr one of your plethora of OZ agencies you had an account with?  How much better were they than ENTAIN?

Nope, never had Betr….

[Chief Stipe]

BTW the Sportsbet foray was funded by Newscorp.

Also don't forget to mention the AUSTRAC action against Sportsbet nor the ongoing BETr investigation.

[Newmarket]

16 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said:

You haven't done your homework.  One week you are moaning about punters getting screwed by ENTAIN then the next week you are spruiking someone who right royally screwed punters over.

Thats harsh…. I initially opened Betezy account, which changed over night to Beteasy…. then to Sportsbet… so things change quick in Aus. 
 

Only real issue i had was waiting 4-5 days for withdrawing. You also have to remember the reason i opened Aus account about 9 yrs ago…. Because TAB back then offered NZ punters Zilch…. others would say the same… have a nice nite

[Chief Stipe]

2 minutes ago, Newmarket said:

Only real issue i had was waiting 4-5 days for withdrawing. You also have to remember the reason i opened Aus account about 9 yrs ago…. Because TAB back then offered NZ punters Zilch…. others would say the same… have a nice nite

You too.  Suggest you open a bottle of red, put a log on the fire and read those annual reports I posted for you.