Entain CEE sale could reshape European betting

• Entain has begun exploring options for its CEE joint venture, including a possible sale, Reuters reported citing three people familiar with the matter.
• Entain CEE, built around Croatian operator SuperSport and Polish operator STS Holdings, was assembled via two deals totalling approximately €920m and £750m respectively between 2022 and 2023.
• Entain expects around £200m in annualised additional costs from UK gambling tax changes, equating to an EBITDA impact of approximately £100m in 2026 and £150m from 2027.

Ladbrokes-owner Entain has begun exploring options for its Central and Eastern European joint venture, including a possible sale, Reuters reported on 18 June, citing three people familiar with the matter.

No formal process has been announced and the sources cautioned that any outcome remains uncertain.

Two deals, one platform

Entain CEE was established in 2022 when Entain partnered with Czech investment firm EMMA Capital to acquire Croatian operator SuperSport. At formation, Entain held a 75% economic interest in the joint venture, with EMMA Capital retaining the remaining 25%. The SuperSport business was valued at approximately €920m at the time of the deal, which closed in November 2022.

In August 2023, Entain CEE made its second acquisition, buying Polish sports betting operator STS Holdings for an equity value of £750m. As part of that transaction, STS co-founders Mateusz Juroszek and his father Zbigniew reinvested a portion of the proceeds for a 10% stake in Entain CEE, adjusting the ownership structure to approximately 67.5% Entain, 22.5% EMMA Capital, and 10% the Juroszek family.

At the time of the SuperSport acquisition, the Croatian operator held approximately 54% of the country’s regulated sports betting and gaming market. STS was the leading online sports betting brand in Poland at the time of its acquisition, though its market position has since come under pressure from rivals including Betclic and Superbet.

Entain CEE operates as a distinct entity within the Entain group, led by SuperSport chief executive Radim Haluza. The joint venture struck a content supply deal with BETER for both SuperSport and STS as recently as October 2025.

The reported review sits alongside a broader pattern of asset scrutiny at Entain. Earlier strategic discussions have reportedly encompassed brands not integrated into the group’s central technology platform, a category that includes the CEE operations, which run on separate infrastructure.

UK tax clouds outlook

The review emerges against the backdrop of significant cost pressure in Entain’s core UK market. Following the autumn 2025 Budget, the government confirmed that Remote Gaming Duty would rise from 21% to 40% from April 2026, with a new 25% general betting duty for remote betting to follow from April 2027.

In a statement issued after the Budget, Entain said its UK and Ireland online business would incur annualised additional costs of approximately £200m as a result of the changes.

Entain said this equates to an EBITDA impact of approximately £100m in 2026 and approximately £150m from 2027. Interim chief executive Stella David indicated the group expected to mitigate roughly 25% of the impact through measures including reduced marketing and promotional spend, a target subsequently upgraded to more than 50% of the 2027 impact.

Cost discipline has also extended to retail: Entain closed 45 Ladbrokes shops across Ireland earlier this year.

At its full-year 2025 results in March, Entain reported group EBITDA, including the BetMGM joint venture, of £1.244bn, up 28% in constant currency. BetMGM delivered $220m EBITDA in its first full year of profitability and returned $270m in cash to its parent companies.

CEO Stella David has described cash generation as an explicit strategic priority, with the group targeting at least £500m in annual adjusted cash flow from 2028. A separate share price drop in April following the wind-down of 6.5% shareholder Eminence Capital added further pressure on the stock ahead of the strategic review.

Entain has not publicly commented on the Reuters report.

If a disposal does progress, the three-way ownership structure of Entain CEE is likely to shape both the terms and timeline of any transaction. For prospective buyers, the assets represent regulated market positions in Croatia and Poland, two of the more established iGaming jurisdictions in Central and Eastern Europe.

How any sale proceeds would be allocated is likely to define the strategic narrative that follows: debt reduction, shareholder returns, and capital redeployment towards the US market are all plausible paths, with BetMGM targeting approximately $500m adjusted EBITDA by 2027.