Entain and Verizon Global Innovation Alliance

RNS Number : 0284J

Entain PLC

17 December 2020

 

ENTAIN AND VERIZON MEDIA ANNOUNCE GLOBAL INNOVATION ALLIANCE

FOR IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGY, GAMING AND SPORTS

Verizon Media will develop first of its kind VR experience for live sports viewing as part of deal with Entain

New YouGov Research Reveals interactivity and social media are transforming  

Gaming and Entertainment

17 December 2020 - Entain plc (LSE: ENT), the international sports-betting and gaming operator (formerly known as GVC Holdings) and Verizon Media, the global media and technology company, today announced a global innovation alliance to develop new opportunities across interactive sports and entertainment.  Entain brands include Ladbrokes, bwin, partypoker, and BetMGM in the United States, which is co-owned with MGM Resorts.

The new alliance coincides with initial findings from new research for Entain by YouGov, revealing that the use of technology is increasingly shaping consumer behaviours in gaming and entertainment around the world, notably in the United States and Australia.  Social media has become central to consumer enjoyment, with new immersive experiences, driven by virtual reality and 5G, accelerating growth of both gaming and e-sports.

Entain and Verizon Media will collaborate to develop a first-of-its-kind highly immersive proof of concept virtual reality experience, that will combine live sports viewing with interactive layers of sports data and gaming. Consumers will be able to participate in sports events, check data, socialise with friends, and place bets on Entain platforms.   

Additionally, Entain will work closely with Verizon Media to develop concepts for new formats with emerging technologies like 5G, virtual reality, and augmented reality to bring the best experiences in immersive content and gaming to sports betting and gambling.  Along with betting on the Entain platforms on live streaming sports events, the goal is to create realistic, immersive experiences for sports fans, such as being in the stadium, participating in play, competing and betting on outcomes on the Entain platforms. 

"To win in the future we need to understand where consumers will be in five, ten years' time and work with other global businesses also investing in that," said Shay Segev, CEO of Entain. "We envisage consumers meeting at a game with friends, who could in fact be elsewhere, using virtual reality headsets to watch, interact and share the experience together and, potentially, compete between themselves at half time or feel like they're on the pitch with the players."

"This new alliance takes the collaboration between our two companies to a new level and will allow us both to maximize new opportunities across sports-betting, content and entertainment," said Guru Gowrappan, CEO, Verizon Media. "Together, we are building the next-generation of content experiences for sports and gaming fans. Our world-first 5G-enabled production studios in LA and London, creative technology teams and Verizon Media's Immersive platform, that enables extended reality (XR) content to be created and distributed across digital channels at scale, allow partners like Entain to bring next-level immersive and interactive experiences to their customers." 

The collaboration builds on an existing successful relationship between Yahoo Sports, part of Verizon Media, and BetMGM, a joint venture with MGM Resorts through which Entain operates in the United States.  BetMGM is integrated throughout Yahoo Sports in the US, and in legal jurisdictions fans can place a bet with BetMGM without leaving the Yahoo Sports app.

The new alliance coincides with first findings of new research for Entain from YouGov, revealing that gaming and entertainment is converging across multiple devices and becoming increasingly interactive, with two-thirds of consumers combining it with social media to increase their enjoyment.

Across all markets, men aged 25 to 39 are the most likely to be innovators or early adopters and are the key audience for e-sports and gaming. Half of e-sports players are in this age group, with most also interacting in social media and more than half enjoying a bet. When it comes to conventional sport, interaction is also increasingly important to this audience, with 31% of 25 to 39-year-old and 34% of over 55's also engaging digitally to increase their enjoyment of watching sport.

ENDS

Enquiries:

Investor Relations E ntain plc
David Lloyd-Seed, Director of Investor Relations & External Communications	Tel: [phone]
Jennifer Spencer, Investor Relations Manager	[e-mail]
Media E ntain plc Tessa Curtis, Head of Media Relations Jay Dossetter, Head of ESG and Press Office	Tel: [phone] Tessa.curtis@ entaingroup .com [e-mail]
Powerscourt
Rob Greening / Elly Williamson	Tel: [phone] entain @powerscourt-group.com

FINN Partners                                                                                      [e-mail]

John Acunto  (US)                                                                              [e-mail]

Gemma White  (UK)                                                                              [e-mail]

Verizon Media

Gareth Jordan, Director of Communications EMEA                            [e-mail]

About Entain plc

Entain plc (LSE: ENT) (Formerly GVC Holdings plc) is a FTSE100 company and is one of the world's largest sports-betting and gaming groups, operating both online and in the retail sector. The Group owns a comprehensive portfolio of established brands. Sports Brands include bet.pt, bwin, Coral, Crystalbet, Eurobet, Ladbrokes, Neds and Sportingbet; Gaming Brands include CasinoClub, Foxy Bingo, Gala, Gioco Digitale, partypoker and PartyCasino. The Group owns proprietary technology across all of its core product verticals and in addition to its B2C operations provides services to a number of third-party customers on a B2B basis. The Group's unique technology platform also powers BetMGM, the joint-venture it operates with MGM Resorts to capitalise on the rapidly regulating US sports betting and iGaming market. Entain is tax resident in the UK with licenses in more than 20 countries, across five continents. The Group's commitment to delivering sustainability and growth is recognised through its membership of the FTSE4Good and DJSI ESG indices, which identify companies that meet globally recognised corporate responsibility standards. www.entaingroup.com

About Verizon Media

Verizon Media, a division of Verizon Communications Inc, houses a trusted media ecosystem of premium brands like Yahoo, AOL, TechCrunch and Engadget to help people stay informed and entertained, communicate and transact, while creating new ways for advertisers and media partners to connect. From XR experiences to advertising and content technology, Verizon Media is an incubator of innovation and is revolutionizing the next generation of content creation in a 5G world. https://www.verizonmedia.com/

 

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