Ladbrokes owner Entain hires Gavin Isaacs as its next chief executive

Gambling giant Entain has appointed its next chief executive seven months after its former boss announced her resignation.

Gavin Isaacs will join the Coral and Foxy Bingo owner on 2 September, having spent more than 25 years in the sports betting, gaming and lottery sectors.

The Australian national is the chairman of online gaming content developer Games Global and a board advisor to technology company Jackpocket and Indian IT group PureSoftware.

He also held senior positions at gaming machine manufacturers Bally Technologies, Aristocrat and Scientific Games, and was a board member at DraftKings, which attempted to acquire Entain in 2021 for £16.2billion.

Isaacs replaces Stella David, who became interim CEO last December when Jette Nygaard-Andersen announced her resignation after just three years in the role.

David herself will become chair when Barry Gibson retires at the end of September following a four-and-a-half-year stint at the firm.

Gibson told investors: ‘We are confident that his proven leadership and operational experience mean that Gavin is the right person to take Entain into its next chapter.

‘I would also like to thank Stella David and Entain colleagues for the significant operational improvements and progress made so far towards our strategic priorities.’

Nygaard-Andersen was the first woman to run a UK-listed betting operator and one of the few female CEOs of a FTSE 100 business when she started at Entain.

During her tenure, she presided over numerous takeovers, including Canadian rival Avid Gaming, Dutch online group BetCity and Croatia’s biggest bookmaker, SuperSport.

However, it was marred by slowing online sales growth, partly caused by the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, poor shareholder returns, and tougher regulatory measures to reduce problem gambling.

She quit soon after Entain agreed to pay £615million to settle a bribery case with the Crown Prosecution Service related to accusations of bribery at a Turkish business the company once owned.

Since then, Entain reported that net gaming revenues across the British Isles fell by 7 per cent in the first three months of 2024, which it blamed on ‘the effects of our regulatory implementation.’

Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said: ‘Never mind a new broom, Ladbrokes-owner Entain was in such a mess that it needed someone armed with a mop and bucket.

Entain shares were 5.6 per cent higher at £6.80 on late Monday morning, although they have slumped by around 47 per cent over the past year.

DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS

AJ Bell

AJ Bell

Easy investing and ready-made portfolios

Hargreaves Lansdown

Hargreaves Lansdown

Free fund dealing and investment ideas

interactive investor

interactive investor

Flat-fee investing from £4.99 per month

eToro

eToro

Share investing: 30+ million community

Trading 212

Trading 212

Free share dealing and no account fee

Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.

Compare the best investing account for you