Play on “entertain” and “attain”

Online gaming giant GVC Holdings has announced that it is rebranding itself, changing its name to Entain. The “fresh corporate identity” will take effect once it is approved by shareholders. The new logo is simply the new name, with the Greek letter sigma in place of the capital “E”. The company’s tagline will be: “For the good of entertainment.”

not just an ethical issue, but a business sustainability issue

One of the company’s primary goals in its new era as Entain is to take advantage of its in-house technology to protect players and foster a safe gaming environment. Part of that initiative is the launch of what it calls the Advanced Responsibility & Care (“ARC”) program, which will be proactive in monitoring customers to try to spot problem gambling signs before things get too far.

GVC sees a focus on responsible gaming as not just an ethical issue, but a business sustainability issue. The better it does with it, the better a reputation it will develop and the more business it will generate.

The company made the dramatic announcement of its rebranding on Twitter:

In Thursday’s announcement, GVC CEO Shay Segev said that with its new identity, the company will: “grow into new markets, reach new audiences, enhance the customer experience, and provide industry-leading levels of player protection.”

Exiting gray markets

Of particular emphasis for the new brand is what GVC calls an “exclusive focus” on regulated gaming markets, those markets where online gambling is explicitly legal. The company said that right now, nearly all of its revenue – 96% — comes from regulated markets, but within the next three years, 100% of its revenues will be. It will exit any markets it views as having “no viable path” to regulation.

One of those markets, particularly for sports betting, is the United States. In July 2018, GVC Holdings teamed up with MGM Resorts International to create Roar Digital, best known by its operating name, BetMGM. BetMGM operates MGM Resorts’ sportsbooks in the US, both online and in its brick-and-mortar casinos. It is also the main brand for its online casino and poker sites. Sister sites include partypoker, Borgata Online, and Party Casino.

Company owns several top brands

GVC Holdings, based in Isle of Man, was founded in 2004 in Luxembourg. It was relatively unknown in the online gambling world until it teamed up with William Hill to buy Sportingbet in 2012. William Hill took Sportingbet’s Australian and Spanish businesses, while GVC got the rest.

The company’s real eye-opener, though, was arguably its acquisition Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment for ￡1.1bn ($1.44bn) in 2014. The crown jewel of the purchase in terms of brand recognition was partypoker, which was once the world’s online poker behemoth, but had dropped in stature after exiting the US market.

Three years ago, GVC bought UK mainstay Ladbrokes Coral in a deal worth as much as ￡4bn ($5.24bn).

All told, GVC Holdings owns more than 30 gaming brands.