Entain Australian and New Zealand CEO Andrew Vouris has confirmed the company intends to bid for multiple New Zealand online casino licenses in a bid to expand its local presence and become the only company offering a full suite of online gambling products. The company currently holds a monopoly on online gambling in New Zealand as holder of an exclusive license for online racing and sports betting.
In an interview with the Australian Financial Review, Vouris – who was appointed CEO in August – explained that the company was keen to grow its New Zealand presence when the government begins issuing up to 15 online casino licenses later this year. Companies are permitted to bid for up to three licenses each.
“We’re going to be the only operator in the market that’s able to offer sports, racing, and potentially casino. That is massive,” Vouris told the AFR, noting that Entain’s New Zealand business has been growing at 28% year-on-year.
Entain’s international online casino interests include the likes of BetMGM and PartyPoker, among many others.
In Australia, where the company runs two leading sportsbooks in Ladbrokes and Neds with a combined market share of around 17%, Vouris confirmed that Entain has dropped a strategy to challenge Tabcorp’s exclusive operator status within NSW pubs and would instead focus on further investment in its online sports betting brands.
The company inked a controversial deal with the Australian Hotels Association in 2023 to install themed lounges and promote its sports betting apps in select pubs – a move that cost around AU$27 million (US$19.2 million) and resulted in legal action by Tabcorp.
Vouris, who has pivoted away from the themed pub concept, stated, “We probably should have pulled out of that strategy sooner. We tried something ambitious and it didn’t work; it distracted us from our core strengths. What matters is discipline.
“If we had invested that $27 million … into the market and into product, we could be really closely nipping Tabcorp’s digital market position. All of that [investment] really came to the detriment of investment that we could have made into marketing, into media, into upgrading our sports product.”
Entain would, he added, now focus on improving the experience for its online customers with a view to claiming more share from market leaders Sportsbet and Tabcorp.
“I’m sure there have been customers of ours in Ladbrokes and Neds that love our racing product but go elsewhere for sport. We want to change that,” he told AFR.
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