US Gambling Growth Helps UK-Based Entain Focus on Game Development

The saying "a rising tide lifts all boats" is true of the recent boom in regulated gambling jurisdictions. In particular, the American foray into legal online gambling has come at a great time for participating US states and the international game developers and software providers who have been key to their success.

The nationwide lockdowns in the UK and the subsequent shuttering of hundreds of its high street betting shops saw Entain, the parent company of Ladbrokes casino, pivot from a predominantly land-based focus to seeing online game development as their core service.

 Global Studio Expansions

Recovering from the loss of its land-based venues and the collapse of a buyout proposal Entain have decided to double down on their game development studios in the UK, Italy, and India.

Jette Nygaard-Andersen, Chief Executive of Entain, said:

“We love giving our customers great experiences and exciting entertainment as that is the bedrock of what we do. Increasing our investment across all three of our in-house games studios will provide more of that for our customers across all our global brands.”

The aggressive growth strategy will see these studios will be looking to add 150 new team members within the next 12 months, taking the studio headcount to just over 300.

 Not Playing Games

The decision to deepen their investment in online casino game development comes from the success that Entain has seen in providing games to BetMGM customers in the USA.

According to their press release, 70% of BetMGM’s player base frequent the series of exclusive titles Entain developed for the casino which includes MGM Grand Millions, Borgata Cash Spinner, and Bison’s Fury slot.

Nygaard-Andersen also announced a string of new developments saying:

“Win Studios based in Hyderabad, India, is developing 30 new products specifically for customers of BetMGM this year, adding to new games like BetMGM Blackjack Pro, BetMGM Roulette Pro, Book of Myths, The Win Genie, Eye of Hathor, and Platinum Blackjack Pro.”

The new vision for Entain’s game development studios appears to be not only the rollout of globally available gaming machines for their internal brands and clients but also to carve out a name for themselves in the bespoke content creation side of the business.

Global Gaming Giant

Despite their obvious success in the US gambling market Entain is not looking to become an exclusive US studio, nor are they looking to merely to churning out reams of formulaic games.

The company is currently working on two exciting new projects, the release of its first Virtual Reality gaming experience and the premier of its exclusive Formula 1 casino games thanks to its partnership agreement with Party Casino and McClaren.

Colin Cole-Johnson, Entain Gaming Director, said:

“Our priority is always to create exciting, engaging products that give our customers choice.  Not only does this enhance the experience for the millions of people who enjoy our products but is an important driver of Entain’s growth. These exclusive, innovative, and tailored games are really valued by our customers.”

The enhanced studios will be developing casino games for the Italian market through its Eurobet studio, the Baltic markets through the recently acquired Enlabs division, and adapting popular UK titles for the broader European market through the CR Games studio.