FTSE100 gambling business GVC Holdings has begun a new era after rebranding as Entain Plc.
Yesterday, GVC Holdings’ shareholders overwhelmingly backed a motion to rebrand the business as Entain Plc.
Overwhelming support from shareholders
The decision to rebrand the business was backed by 99.9% of company shareholders while just 0.04% voted against the name change.
The rebranding of the business was proposed last month, with GVC at the time saying that the new name and brand identity would reflect the changes across the business and the wider gambling sector.
The vote was carried out during an “extraordinary general meeting” where shareholders also signed off on a new corporate charter proposing several new long-term sustainability goals.
A new strategy for the business
The change in name was just one of several measures outlined in the business’s new sustainable growth strategy.
Last month, group CEO Shay Segev and the business’s new executive leadership team revealed charter objectives to shareholders where they stressed that Entain would lead global gambling across “all sustainability and conduct disciplines.”
The most notable proposal saw the company commit to conducting all of its business in legal and regulated markets by the end of trading in 2023.
At this moment in time, 96% of the firm’s revenue comes from markets that are nationally regulated or regulating. The operator expects this figure to hit 99% by the end of 2020. When the rebrand was first announced, GVC explained that if it becomes clear that regulation in a market appears unlikely, it would plan to exit the market.
On top of this, all subsidiaries and operational teams will be supported by Entain’s new Advanced Responsibility and Care (ARC) programme. This will see the business use its proprietary safer gambling technology to enhance player protection through additional checks, improved monitoring and interventions.
Entain’s global expansion will also be supported with the launch of the Entain Foundation, a corporate social responsibility fund committed to donating mor than £100m to local communities, gambling harm research and funding grass root sports initiatives over the next five years.
