“It will,” says Rob Wood with a smile when asked if it will feel strange not to introduce himself as Entain’s CFO anymore. The 46-year-old, who has also served as the group’s deputy CEO since 2021, steps down today, 6 March, after more than 13 years with the business in its various guises. Wood will be replaced by former Boots CFO Michael Snape, yet he remain on hand until June before taking a break.
Speaking to EGR following the Ladbrokes and Coral parent’s full-year earnings reported yesterday, 5 March, Wood reflected on his time with the company, which started back in its Gala Coral days, before a whirlwind series of mergers, acquisitions and rebrands now sees him exit a FTSE 100 firm that is one of the largest gambling companies in the world.
EGR: I wanted to start off with some reflections on your time with the group. What were some of your highlights?
Rob Wood (RW): It’s been a fabulous journey, I have to say. This was my eighth full-year results presentation for this business. The EBITDA we posted is double what it was the first time I presented, which was seven financial years ago, and many multiples of what used to be Gala Coral. It’s been an amazing journey of growth. When we started, we were just in the UK, Italy and Belgium. Then it combined with Ladbrokes, and then [was bought by] GVC.
We’ve done lots of acquisitions and now it’s a global powerhouse in the FTSE 100. It’s been a great ride, but it’s been exhausting, so now it’s a time for a rest. That’s my only plan right now; to have a break, recharge, give a bit back to the family, which is long overdue, and see what happens next. But I do so knowing I’m leaving the business in really strong shape. You can see from the numbers, the momentum is good. There’s broad-based growth all around the world. And I know in Mike [Snape], who is my replacement, that we’ve got a really strong CFO for me to hand the baton over to.
EGR: You joined Entain back when it was a very different sector. Were those the glory days? Is it a tougher job now?
RW: The regulatory environment is the big difference. I’ve always operated in the regulated part of the sector, but it has been interesting to see a transition in so many different countries figuring out how to best regulate and tax the sector, including the US. Potentially, we went through a period of overregulation, which has caused the black market to flourish. And now I think there’ll be a period of correcting that balance, which obviously is to the benefit of the licensed part of the market.
And then, of course, there’s technology. I remember in the early days, things like betting in play was massive innovation. Obviously it’s now just part and parcel of what we do. It’s half of all our handle these days. But if you look back, there’s been massive innovation during that period. It’s been great to be part of an online-led, technology-based company over that same that period of time.
EGR: With some challenges along the way, does anything stand out and what did you learn from them?
RW: I think sometimes you get things right, and then other times you learn. And that’s true of anybody in any walk of life. So, I don’t think there’s anything that stands out. It’s been a great journey and delighted with what we’ve built during that time.
EGR: The earnings report shows strong results for UK and Ireland online. But with all the of talk of the longtail of brands thinning out in light of tax hikes, is there an expectation to take market share, and how much?
RW: No one would have chosen what happened in November but you have to play the hand you’re dealt, and this is an opportunity for Entain to pick up significant market share. That is absolutely our intent. If you look at the taxes we will now be paying in the UK as a percentage of profits before tax, it’s over 80%, and that’s a staggering level of income tax in any sector in any part of the world. So, as a consequence of that, it’s really difficult for subscale operators to continue to do business in the UK. So yes, we do see it as an opportunity for share gain, and that’s the focus of the business.
EGR: On the tax hikes, what was the reaction at Entain HQ when the Budget was announced on 26 November?
RW: It was unexpected, and therefore there was a lot of surprise, frustration and concern for the industry. Entain is one of the lucky ones, really. We’re a big global business, with diversification all around the world.
Despite this, EBITDA will be broadly stable this year because underlying growth is offsetting the introduction of these new tax rises in the UK. We know we’re one of the lucky ones, but is this really the right thing for the UK gaming sector? We don’t believe so. We believe it opens the door to the black market. That means player protection and tax take go down. Sport integrity challenges arise and, ultimately, it’s not the right way to have a healthy and competitive regulated industry.
It’s a lot of disappointment, but once you dust that off, you realise it’s a real opportunity for the scale players. Of our top 16 online markets, we’re on the podium in 13 of them, and the three we’re not we’re in fourth. So in all these markets, which, by and large are the best markets in the world, we’re in the top four in every single one of them.
That means whenever something like what occurred in the UK happens, we’re really well placed to capitalise and take share. We talk about podium positioning a lot, and this is why. The UK is a perfect example. We’re the number two there, while a lot of other operators will struggle, but we will lean in and emerge stronger.
EGR: Further optimisation has been mentioned, so what does that look like for Entain?
RW: The important context is that back in November, when the announcement around taxes was made, our immediate response was we can get to 25% mitigation immediately, without having to take too many leaps of faith.
What we didn’t do is what some other operators did, which is come straight out with a much higher number. That, in our view, was premature when you haven’t done the planning. Now the number we’re talking about, over 50%, is actually sort of in line with where others are anyway. It’s broad based from a geographic perspective. This extra 25% is not a UK thing, it’s seeing opportunities across the group. And really, this isn’t about the UK tax rise, it’s about an extension of [multi-year efficiency and restructuring programme] Project Romer.
We’re a large group, so there are efficiency opportunities. We spend around £2.5bn a year with third parties, and we know there’s opportunities to spend some of that more efficiently. One of those examples was marketing, but marketing production costs – the non-working media, as we call it – the costs of producing content.
And now with AI, it’s incredible what you can produce with more speed at a fraction of the cost. One of our markets has got a sport promoter talking about next betting opportunities in their social feed during matches. It’s all AI generated and fantastic to watch. That’s just one example of where there are opportunities for efficiency around the world.
EGR: There is some softness in Brazil, albeit against tough comps and customer-friendly results. As it’s one of Entain’s three must-wins alongside UK and US, what is the strategy there?
RW: Football results were really bad in the second half of the 2025, and we believe it’s the whole market because our market share was steady from Q2 into Q3 into Q4, so logically, it must have been the whole market. Football results come and go. It’s part and parcel of the business. And one of the benefits of being so geographically diversified is you can insulate yourself when any one territory has bad margins. Australia was the same, by the way – things like the Spring Carnival just went the way of the customers. But Brazil was the bigger impact.
If you look at what we call volumes, meaning gaming growth and sports handle, so basically normalising for margin, we were up double digits in the year. We still believe in the future of Brazil. It’s still a good market with lots of growth to come. There are challenges, though. The black market is bigger than the regulator expected it to be, but now they’re leaning in and being proactive on how to improve channelisation, which is obviously a good thing for us. There’s lots to do in that market. It’s very competitive, but we’re making good money.
We’re fortunate to benefit from a brand in Sportingbet that’s well known and well established. Whereas others are investing huge amounts of money and losing huge amounts, we’re profitable. We’re maintaining that discipline and holding share, promoting the business, but also making money, which is what it’s all about.
EGR: On the analyst call, Stella [David] called the Netherlands a “terrible combination” due to various headwinds there. It’s a tough market, so is the juice ever not worth the squeeze for Entain?
RW: No. The Netherlands is still very profitable for us. Not long after we bought BetCity, they introduced really draconian measures – partly tax and partly deposit limits – so ultimately, the market is less valuable than it should have been because half of it has gone black. That’s been the challenge.
The good news is when we acquired the business, we actually had a big earnout portion to it that ultimately didn’t pay out. In the end, we paid the right money for the profits it generates. It is still profitable for us, still a good market, and the Dutch market’s always been a really good sports betting and gaming market, but they haven’t got the balance right between regulation and black market.
But you’ve got a regulator that’s proactive, recognises it and writes its own reports on it, which is a big win. A few years ago, a lot of regulators didn’t choose to acknowledge the black market, but now we have confidence that balance will start to correct itself and help the regulated market to flourish. It’s a good sports betting market, and, in BetCity, we have a really strong brand and therefore lots of potential to grow in that market.
EGR: Any closing remarks as you prepare to step down?
RW: I only ever would have stepped down at a point when I felt the business was in really good shape. We’ve done that now and I’m handing over the reins to a business that has an amazing foundation but also tons of growth in front of it. We’re growing all around the world. I look forward to seeing what Entain does in the future.
Have Your Say
Take our short customer survey on EGR’s content and data offering for the chance to win a £100 Amazon voucher. It will take less than three minutes, with the findings used to inform our plans to improve the platform.
The post Q&A: Rob Wood reflects on his “fabulous journey” with Entain first appeared on EGR Intel.
CFO and deputy CEO talks to EGR as he steps down from his post after more than 13 years with the company, from its Gala Coral roots through to the global giant it is today
The post Q&A: Rob Wood reflects on his “fabulous journey” with Entain first appeared on EGR Intel.