Entain is likely to slip out of the FTSE 100 in the index’s latest quarterly reshuffle of blue-chip companies, according to multiple reports.
The UK’s largest publicly traded gambling company has a market cap £3.3bn, which is almost half what the Ladbrokes, Coral and bwin parent company was worth 12 months ago.
The shares, which currently trade at just over £5, are down by a third so far in 2026, as the operator faces headwinds of a near doubling of remote gaming duty to 40% as of last April and slower than expected US growth.
Entain, which been part of the FTSE 100 since June 2020, has undergone downsizing in recent months, including the decision in July to lay off 500 people across online operations, or 2% of its 28,000-strong workforce, in July.
Management announced in June it is to sell a 20% stake in the Central and Eastern European JV, comprising STS and SuperSport, to partner EMMA Capital for €425m, a transaction which values the unit at €2.1bn.
Earlier this month, Entain reported a 5% year-on-year (YoY) increase in net gaming revenue (NGR) on a constant currency basis to £2.5bn for H1 2026, attributed to “stronger than expected” performance in the UK and Australia.
In the same earnings announcement, the group reported EBITDA slid 2% YoY to £479.8m.
Besides Entain, listed gambling stocks have suffered a torrid period of late, with Flutter shares down almost 55% in New York so far in 2026. DraftKings stock has slumped 28% in the same period.
Much of the selloff is due to the threat from prediction markets, though Entain is less exposed due to its North America JV, BetMGM, being a casino-first operation that leans heavily into omnichannel gains from MGM Resorts International’s land-based properties.
Entain currently operates around 2,300 betting shops in Britain, though earlier this month Number 10 announced the scrapping of the “aim to permit” rule preventing local councils from blocking the opening of new betting shops, much to the chagrin of the industry.
Furthermore, anti-gambling campaigners are pushing the government to double machine games duty (MGD) on Category B machines found in betting shops, casinos, bingo halls and Adult Gaming Centres from 20% to 40%.
Strategic advisory firm Regulus Partners forecast 4,000 of the just over 5,000 betting shops in Britain would close if MGD was hiked to 40%.
Betfred announced at the end of July that the bookmaker was to shut more than 130 shops, putting 600 jobs at risk of redundancy.
Former evoke chief strategy officer Vaughan Lewis examined the impact of government policy when it comes to taxing the industry in a recent article published by EGR.
The post Entain set to crash out of London’s FTSE 100 index first appeared on EGR Intel.
Operator reportedly faces relegation from the blue-chip index after a difficult 12 months for its share price, with higher UK duties weighing on investor sentiment
The post Entain set to crash out of London’s FTSE 100 index first appeared on EGR Intel.