Entain has reported that its net gaming revenue in the UK and Ireland fell in the first quarter of 2024, after it continued to "experience the effects" of its regulatory implementation.

The trading update comes after the Government introduced a white paper in April last year, which introduced a statutory levy and stake limits on certain types of betting.

The FTSE 100-listed international sports betting and gambling firm, which owns firms including Ladbrokes Coral and BetMGM, saw its NGR increase by 6% across the group, with international NGR also increasing by 8%.

The Isle of Man-headquartered company said that it had seen a "positive performance" across many of its markets, which was partially offset by expected softness in Australia, Netherlands and Germany, with good year-on-year growth in Brazil.

Interim chief executive officer at Entain, Stella David, said: "Our Q1 performance was in line with our expectations, with growth reflecting both strong performances in many of our markets as well as known challenges in others. We are particularly encouraged by the level of customer engagement in the US following a successful Super Bowl and March Madness, as well as our return to growth in Brazil following the changes we implemented.

"There is still more to do, but the team is fully engaged in delivering operational improvements, product enhancements, as well as greater organisational agility and efficiency. We look forward to building on this momentum as we focus on our strategic priorities of organic revenue growth, margin expansion and winning in the U.S. We remain confident that our continued focused execution will drive organic growth into 2025 and beyond."

Equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, Matt Britzman, added: "First-quarter trading was slightly better than markets were expecting, but still showed a dip in gaming revenue assuming recent acquisitions had been in place since the start of last year. Performance close to home in the UK & Ireland is struggling, as new regulation takes hold and there’s also weakness creeping in across the pond too.

"Shares have been under pressure, and markets are expecting little to no underlying growth until 2025. There’s rightly some negative sentiment in the air with regulatory headwinds expected to hit profits in the coming year, no permanent CEO and increased US competition impacting the BetMGM joint venture. But there are growth levers to pull, and from a low base it won’t take much to reignite the flame."

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