LADBROKES owner Entain announced a revenue fall in the fourth quarter yesterday after nearly six years of double-digit growth.

The betting giant, which was the subject of two takeover approaches over the past year, said its online net gaming revenue fell nine per cent in the three months to 31 December from a year earlier.

However, bookies bounced back, and retail net gaming revenue surged 60 per cent, with betting volumes at its 4,000 outlets within 10 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

But in many ways, the saving grace for Entain was BetMGM, the group's US joint venture with MGM Resorts.

BetMGM hit a net revenue of around $850m (£624m), up nearly five times from the previous year.

It expects this momentum to continue, with hopes to reach over $1.3bn (£954m) in 2022.

Jette Nygaard-Andersen, Entain chief executive, called 2021 "successful and eventful", and highlighted BetMGM as a particular highlight for the FTSE 100 company.

(c) 2022 City A.M., source Newspaper