Wonderland Protector

How to play Wonderland Protector

Entain said the higher RGD had a £56 million negative impact on first-half EBITDA. In Britain, operators are dealing with government policy and higher taxes. In America, the main threat is competition. The problems are different, but they hit the same group of stocks.

Entain is trying to respond by simplifying itself. It has agreed to sell an initial 20% stake in Entain CEE for €425 million, implying an enterprise value of about €2.1 billion. The company says proceeds from the transaction and any future exit will be used to reduce debt and, subject to leverage objectives, return excess capital to shareholders.

The strategy is less about rapid growth and more about showing that a cash-generating business with falling debt and improving operations is undervalued.

About Wonderland Protector

Ahead of the government’s Autumn Budget in October, Entain CEO Stella David cautioned that doubling the current MGD rate to 40% could result in widespread closures of betting shops and significant job losses, while potentially reducing tax revenues for the government.

A potential MGD rise was first reported in the The Financial Times, as Chancellor John Healey is allegedly looking to raise the tax, on the recommendation of the Social Market Foundation, which proposed the increase in a recent report.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham had already announced the government’s intention to scrap “aim to permit” for betting shops as well as insisting that AGCs will now need planning permission to function.

What is Wonderland Protector?

The DCMS has said she brings extensive experience from her long-standing career in public protection and financial crime prevention.

Her previous leadership roles include chairing the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), the Bar Standards Board and acting as a lay member of the General Medical Council. 

Evans also served as a non-executive director of the Serious Fraud Office. She led the steering group responsible for a voluntary industry code that reimburses victims of authorised push payment (APP) scams, introduced in 2018.