• Entain CEO departs, shares crash over 10%.

• In +More: Evolution share buyback, Catena Media’s lackluster Q4.

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Gone!

A Lady Bracknell moment: Entain is once again looking for a permanent CEO after Gavin Isaacs dramatically resigned with immediate effect this morning, leaving chair Stella David to once again resume the role on an interim basis.

• The company said Isaacs’ departure was “by mutual agreement” after less than six months in the role.

• Isaacs was appointed as CEO in July last year after a prolonged search on the part of Entain and took up the reins in September.

• David is to take on the interim post she held for nine months after the resignation of previous CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen in December 2023.

Crash site: The shares crashed 10% in early trading as investors in London woke up to the news.

Just not feeling it: Sources close to the company suggested his tenure “just hadn't worked out” and he had underestimated the extent of the relocation challenge from Las Vegas to London.

Nothing to see here: David was keen to stress the theme of stability. “Entain is making strong progress in delivering our strategic priorities,” she said in the stock exchange statement. “The board is pleased with the group’s performance in 2024 and trading so far this year.”

• At the time of its last trading statement in January, Entain reiterated its guidance for FT24 EBITDA of £1.04bn-£1.09bn.

• Entain said today it was “comfortable with market expectations” for the current year.

Cloudy with a chance of rain: Isaacs’ departure also comes just a week after the BetMGM JV, in which Entain owns a 50% stake, reported its well-received FY24 numbers.

• His abrupt departure will once again throw the spotlight on the relationship between Entain and MGM Resorts.

• As reported by E+M less than 10 days ago, industry sources suggested Isaacs was now more persuaded to sell the stake in BetMGM after previously being minded to stick with the current JV structure.

Turmoil: Jefferies analysts said the negative market reaction to “yet more turmoil” at Entain would be “slightly offset by the comfort derived” from Stella David stepping back into the interim CEO role.

• The team added that they “do not expect a material change in strategic direction.”

• The analysts at Investec said this was “highly disruptive news, especially as it may take time to find a replacement.”

Recall, Isaacs appeared to enjoy a tailwind when he joined Entain as the company sought to reassure investors after the turbulence of the regime of his predecessor.

• In September, the company released a trading update that said Entain continued to make “strong progress,” with recovery in the UK & Ireland ahead of schedule.

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• Light & Wonder’s share price was up 10% in early trading on Monday on developments in relation to the Dragon Train legal action brought by rival Aristocrat. A court in Australia has denied Aristocrat’s request for an interlocutory injunction and the team at Macquarie said that, as a result, its customers in Australia are not parties to the Aristocrat litigation. This puts paid to the idea that the 10,000 Dragon Train games currently in use within Australia might have been subject to an injunction.

• Buyback-ability: The board of Evolution has announced it has authorized a half-a-billion euro share buyback to follow on from the previous €400m buyback scheme that was completed in October last year. The new program of buying has to be completed before the company's AGM in May. The buyback comes as Evolution’s shares continue to be under pressure, down over 38% in the past year. They managed a 2% uplift yesterday on the buyback news.

• Earnings in brief: Once mighty, now far less so, affiliate provider Catena Media said revenues for Q4 once again fell double digits YoY, down 30% to €10.2m, albeit with adj. EBITDA steady at a meagre €1.5m. The company said it had canned its previously trumpeted AI content-generation initiative.

• Las Vegas Sands has announced it has had to delay the completion date on its second resort development at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore by over a year, with the new deadline moved to January 2031 vs. the previous target of Jul 2029.

• Star Entertainment said it is considering the sale of its 50% stake in the operator of its Star Brisbane casino in Australia. Chow Tai Fook and Far East Consortium, which own the other half of the Destination Brisbane joint venture, have already made offers to buy the rest of the property it does not own, SGR said in an Australian Stock Exchange filing.

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Revolution in the air: In Compliance+More today, as Kalshi prepares to broaden out its sports-based prediction markets offering, the new interim chair of the CFTC wants to remove legal barriers that prevent it from regulating sports-based events contracts as financial products.

• However, experts said more complex jurisdictional issues lie in wait.

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Earnings calendar

• Feb 11: Red Rock Resorts, DoubleDown Interactive

• Feb 12: MGM Resorts

• Feb13: DraftKings (earnings), Wynn Resorts, Mohegan

• Feb 14: DraftKings (call)

• Feb 18: Gentoo, GiG Software

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