Entain reported 8% growth in online gaming net gaming revenue (NGR) for the third quarter of 2026, while online sports NGR fell 3%. The split left total online NGR 3% higher and group NGR up 2%, according to its 15 October trading update.
The figures cover 1 July to 30 September. They compare continuing operations, excluding Entain CEE, with the previous year at constant currency. That currency treatment uses 2026 exchange rates for both periods; it is not a comparison of unadjusted reported amounts.
Entain's Q3 figures separate products and channels
| Reporting scope | NGR change from a year earlier |
|---|---|
| Group, continuing operations | +2% |
| Online, all products | +3% |
| Online gaming | +8% |
| Online sports | -3% |
| UK & Ireland, all channels | +8% |
| UK & Ireland, online only | +14% |
Entain attributed pressure on sports performance to football results in August and September that favoured customers, outweighing a stronger sports margin in July. That explanation describes the company's aggregate trading experience. It does not show that every customer won or that a particular bet was profitable.
The 14% increase in UK & Ireland belongs to online NGR. Growth across the region's online and retail operations combined was 8%. Applying the larger number to the whole regional business would change the scope of the result.
The gaming and sports growth rates cannot simply be averaged to reconstruct the online total. Their starting revenue amounts are different inputs. The headline percentages alone do not reveal how much each product contributed in cash.
Volume is an adjusted measure in this report
Entain's online volume growth was 3%, while the table separately recorded a 1% decline in online sports wagers. These measures should not be read as interchangeable counts of bets or customers.
In note 4, the company explains that volume growth adjusts NGR to remove sports-margin fluctuations, assuming the same sports margin in both years. It is a comparison under that adjustment, not evidence that the number of players or tickets rose 3%.
Our sportsbook hold and theoretical-margin guide explains why a result-based revenue measure differs from the margin estimated before sporting outcomes. A quarter's results can affect the former without establishing the economics of every market offered during it.
What the results do and do not tell players
Entain defines NGR in this release as net revenue before VAT and sales taxes. The word "net" does not make the number an accounting profit figure. Our GGR, GGY and NGR explainer sets out why the definition attached to a report matters.
For someone reading these results alongside a betting account, the company totals and the individual ticket answer different questions. The quarterly update does not establish an account's return, the terms governing a wager or a customer's ability to withdraw money. Those require the relevant records and conditions, rather than an inference from group revenue growth.
The update's notes identify the statutory results as unaudited. These are company-reported trading figures, not BetTimes tests of a gambling product or evidence that gambling is safe or profitable. When comparing another operator's quarter, check its product mix, reporting period and metric definition before treating the percentages as comparable.