24 November 2023

Entain plc

("Company" and, together with its subsidiaries, "Group")

Update on Deferred Prosecution Agreement

Further to its announcement of 10 August 2023, Entain plc (LSE: ENT), the global sports betting and gaming group, announces that it has, in principle, reached a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which received preliminary judicial approval from Dame Victoria Sharp, President of the King's Bench Division, at a hearing today at the Royal Courts of Justice sitting as the Crown Court at Southwark.  Entain will now seek final judicial approval from the Court on 5 December 2023.

The DPA relates to HMRC's investigation into the Company's legacy Turkish-facing business, which the Group sold in 2017, and the activities of former third-party suppliers and former employees of the Group. It arises from alleged offences under Section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010 and, in particular, the failure of the Company to have adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery. The DPA is a voluntary agreement and, subject to final Court approval and compliance with its terms, would fully resolve the HMRC investigation into these matters insofar as they concern the Company and the Group.

The terms of the DPA are in line with the provision announced on 10 August 2023.  The Company has agreed to pay a financial penalty plus disgorgement of profits totalling £585 million, to make a charitable donation of £20 million and to pay a contribution of £10 million to HMRC and the CPS's costs. The financial penalty, disgorgement of profits and the charitable donation will be paid in instalments over the term of the DPA, which will be four years from the date of the final Court approval. 

The Company has co-operated extensively with HMRC and the CPS and will continue to co-operate with the authorities into the future, pursuant to the terms of the DPA.

Barry Gibson, Chairman, stated:

"This legacy matter concerns a business which was sold by a former management team six years ago. The Group has changed immeasurably since these events took place, and the DPA process has provided a reminder of the stark differences between the GVC of yesterday and the Entain of today. We are committed to continuing our journey towards operating only in regulated markets, and are now widely recognised as a best-in-class, responsible operator with the highest levels of corporate governance across all aspects of our business."

A further announcement will be made following the hearing on 5 December 2023 and details of the finalised DPA will be provided at the appropriate time.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of English law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The person responsible for releasing this announcement on behalf of the Company is Simon Zinger, General Counsel. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

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About Entain plc

Entain plc (LSE: ENT) is a FTSE100 company and is one of the world's largest sports betting and gaming groups, operating both online and in the retail sector. The Group owns a comprehensive portfolio of established brands; Sports brands include BetCity, bwin, Coral, Crystalbet, Eurobet, Ladbrokes, Neds, Sportingbet, Sports Interaction, STS, SuperSport and TAB NZ; Gaming brands include Foxy Bingo, Gala, GiocoDigitale, Ninja Casino, Optibet, Partypoker and PartyCasino. The Group owns proprietary technology across all its core product verticals and in addition to its B2C operations provides services to a number of third-party customers on a B2B basis.

The Group has a 50/50 joint venture, BetMGM, a leader in sports betting and iGaming in the US. Entain provides the technology and capabilities which power BetMGM as well as exclusive games and products, specially developed at its in-house gaming studios. The Group is tax resident in the UK and is the only global operator to exclusively operate in domestically regulated or regulating markets operating in over 40 territories.

Entain is a leader in ESG, a member of FTSE4Good, the DJSI and is AA rated by MSCI. The Group has set a science-based target, committing to be carbon net zero by 2035 and through the Entain Foundation supports a variety of initiatives, focusing on safer gambling, grassroots sport, diversity in technology and community projects. For more information see the Group's website: www.entaingroup.com.