{"id":197629,"date":"2022-01-10T16:23:30","date_gmt":"2022-01-11T00:23:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=197629"},"modified":"2022-01-10T16:46:16","modified_gmt":"2022-01-11T00:46:16","slug":"entain-ceo-mulls-returning-136m-covid-relief-payout-after-bad-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/entain-ceo-mulls-returning-136m-covid-relief-payout-after-bad-press\/","title":{"rendered":"Entain CEO Mulls Returning $136M Coronavirus Relief Payout After Bad Press"},"content":{"rendered":"

Entain chief-executive Jette Nygaard-Andersen<\/a> has said her company may return the \u00a3102 million (US$136 million) it claimed in coronavirus relief payments. That’s following a media backlash about the perceived misuse of taxpayers\u2019 money.<\/p>\n

\"Jette
Jette Nygaard-Andersen, pictured, says the Entain board will have to wait and see about that \u00a3102 million. (Image: CNBC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But then again, she said, it might not.<\/p>\n

Last week, The Guardian<\/em> complained the UK-based gambling giant had claimed the funds — \u00a357.5 million (US$78 million) in 2020 and \u00a344 million (US$60 million) in 2021 — despite revenues of \u00a33.6 billion (US$4.9 billion) in 2020. Profits after tax were \u00a3114 million (US$155 million).<\/p>\n

Entain said it used the \u201cfurlough money\u201d to keep its 14,000 employees at its land-based Ladbrokes Coral betting shops on full pay. That was at a time when the outlets were largely forced into closure by the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u2018Under Review\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Sports betting revenues were hit hard by the closures, and in 2020 by the widespread cancellation of global sports. But The Guardian<\/em> noted that profits rose for Entain\u2019s online casino operations during lockdown, which allowed revenues to remain at pre-pandemic levels.<\/p>\n

In an interview with The Telegraph<\/em> on Saturday, Nygaard Andersen said the money could be returned in the coming months. But the board had to remain cautious because the pandemic was far from over.<\/p>\n

During the pandemic and the lockdown, we\u2019ve been able to support our colleagues and pay them 100 percent of their pay,\u201d <\/strong>she said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThe virus is still here. And as it is, although improving, it\u2019s still far from certain how this will play out,\u201d she added. \u201cThe board is keeping, and will continue to keep, the situation under review. But it\u2019s just too early.\u201d<\/p>\n

Image Problem<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The UK gambling industry is taking its bad press seriously at the moment \u2013 and there\u2019s plenty of it. The country\u2019s government has pledged to reform the nation\u2019s 2005 Gambling Act, which established one of the most liberal regulated online gambling markets in the world.<\/p>\n

Operators are only too aware that each negative column inch piles pressure on lawmakers to tighten regulatory controls, which would undoubtedly stymie industry growth and innovation.<\/p>\n

Entain has been at the forefront of efforts to demonstrate the industry is capable of responsible self-regulation. They are spearheading the self-imposed \u201cwhistle-to-whistle\u201d ban<\/a> on advertising around televised sports events, for example.<\/p>\n

It is somewhat unfair, the reputation that our industry has,\u201d<\/strong> Nygaard-Andersen told The Telegraph<\/em>. \u201cIt is utterly important for me that our customers understand that we have their safety at heart, and that they see us as a trusted entertainment provider.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

She said she wants there to be \u201ca healthy balance\u201d in the upcoming reforms, adding that extreme measures would propel gamblers towards the unregulated \u201cblack market.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Entain chief-executive Jette Nygaard-Andersen has said her company may return the \u00a3102 million (US$136 million) it claimed in coronavirus relief payments. That’s following a media backlash about the perceived misuse of taxpayers\u2019 money. But then again, she said, it might not. Last week, The Guardian complained the UK-based gambling giant had claimed the funds — […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":197630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,33810],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEntain CEO Mulls Returning $136M COVID Relief Payout After Bad Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Entain CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen says her company could return furlough payments if pandemic abates, but not just yet, she says.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/entain-ceo-mulls-returning-136m-covid-relief-payout-after-bad-press\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Entain CEO Mulls Returning $136M COVID Relief Payout After Bad Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Entain CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen says her company could return furlough payments if pandemic abates, but not just yet, she says.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/entain-ceo-mulls-returning-136m-covid-relief-payout-after-bad-press\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-01-11T00:23:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-01-11T00:46:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/jette2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/entain-ceo-mulls-returning-136m-covid-relief-payout-after-bad-press\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/entain-ceo-mulls-returning-136m-covid-relief-payout-after-bad-press\/\",\"name\":\"Entain CEO Mulls Returning $136M COVID Relief Payout After Bad Press\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/entain-ceo-mulls-returning-136m-covid-relief-payout-after-bad-press\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/entain-ceo-mulls-returning-136m-covid-relief-payout-after-bad-press\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/jette2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-01-11T00:23:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-01-11T00:46:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Entain CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen says her company could return furlough payments if pandemic abates, but not just yet, she says.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/entain-ceo-mulls-returning-136m-covid-relief-payout-after-bad-press\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/entain-ceo-mulls-returning-136m-covid-relief-payout-after-bad-press\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/entain-ceo-mulls-returning-136m-covid-relief-payout-after-bad-press\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/jette2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/jette2.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"Jette Nygaard-Andersen, pictured, says the Entain board will have to wait and see about that \u00a3102 million. 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