Gaming Company Entain Looks to the Metaverse

Global sports betting and gaming company Entain is taking a big risk with the metaverse. The company will be investing over $130 million to launch a global innovation lab to develop mmersive gaming and sports experiences.

Early partners in the hub that has been named Ennovate, include Verizon, BT and Theta Labs.

The company said this week that it plans to invest 100 million pounds ($133 million) to fund start-ups and develop applications for nonfungible tokens, virtual reality and augmented reality.

As part of this effort, new products will be tested in two retail experience zones, or VR arcades, by consumers.

“We want to lead the way with new, exciting products and experiences for customers and use our cutting-edge technology to pioneer innovations in sport, gaming and interactive entertainment for the metaverse,” stated CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen.

The lab is expected to launch in March in London.

Entain is the FTSE 100 company that is one of the world’s largest sports betting and gaming groups operating in the online and retail sector. Via the company’s unique proprietary technology platform, they offer sports betting, casino, poker and bingo online and operate some of the industry’s most iconic brands including Ladbrokes, Coral, BetMGM, bwin, Sportingbet, Eurobet, partypoker, partycasino, Gala and Foxy Bingo.

In December 2020 the company rebranded their Group from GVC Holdings, to reflect their ambition to be the world-leader in sports betting and gaming entertainment.

Entain is licensed and operate in more than 20 countries, across five continents around the globe.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.