Entain announces betting retail expansion project across UK and Europe

By
Lucas Silva
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Entain-announces-betting-retail-expansion-project-across-UK-and-Europe

Entain is looking to update its British and European stores, converting several key selling points into “contemporary digital spaces to enhance the multi-channel experience”.

The retail makeover will start with the British and Italian stores of betting giants Ladbrokes, Coral and Eurobet, before being rolled out elsewhere on the continent.

According to the company, these new stores contain the latest gaming machines and interactive displays to give customers a more “immersive and dynamic” experience, as well as a greater choice of interactive sports and gaming content.

In both the UK and Italy, Entain has tested these new store designs, which it claims are more in line with online shoppers’ expectations.


“Entain is a global online operator, but we are focused on providing a great local experience for our customers. This investment allows us to provide a more immersive and united online experience for our customers,” commented Rob Wood, CFO and Vice President Chief Executive of Entain.

“Since the high streets reopened, our retail customers have returned in large numbers, reflecting the continued demand from customers for an immersive in-store experience.”

Entain’s expansion goals

The company has already opened 18 new digital centers across the UK and aims to have a total of 30 revised stores open by the end of 2021, with a final goal of 200 in the country by the end of 2024.

In Italy, the group plans to convert about 200 stores and plans to have the first 30 locations open by the end of this year, including a series of “Eurobet Cafés” that will supposedly offer customers a new place to meet and socialize with friends .

Andrea Faelli, MD at Entain Italy, said: “It’s about offering a different and more distinctive experience to new and existing customers. We want to go from simply offering betting shops to accommodation spaces in city centers where people can come to have fun, which may or may not include placing a bet.”

Entain also hopes that this digital renewal will breathe new life into the streets and city centers of struggling cities in both countries.

In the UK alone, the British Retail Consortium recently reported that more than one in seven stores are now vacant, a number rising to one in five in particularly hard-hit parts of the country.