Entain, the British joint parent of BetMGM, has been unanimously approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission for licensure in the state.
In a meeting yesterday, the Commission approved Entain as an entity as well as CEO Jette Nygaard-Anderson and CTO Joseph Simon as fit and proper for licensure ‘as a manager or key executive’.
Also added to the key executives’ licensing were CFO Rob Wood and Chief Governance Officer Robert Hoskin.
Formerly known as GVC Holdings, Entain shares a 50-50 joint venture with MGM Resorts International for the BetMGM online sportsbook and casino.
BetMGM is live with online sports betting in Nevada, and this move is seemingly to add Entain executives to the BetMGM licensing documents.
Though a unanimous decision, Entain was not given licensure without a grilling, after commissioners demanded to know more about a record fine picked up from the UK Gambling Commission last year.
Entain was fined a record £17m from the British regulator for a series of historical social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures, however, has made strides to ensure that the company is compliant and has a much-improved stance on RG.
Satisfied that the group has made sufficient progress since the historical fine, the NGC was happy to proceed and offer a license to Entain.
Recently, Entain and MGM’s relationship was thrust back into the spotlight after the latter’s CEO, Bill Hornbuckle, seemed to shun any idea that it was looking to buy out its JV partner.
MGM did submit a bid to buy Entain back in 2021 however it was turned down and interest on the America firm’s side seems to have cooled in the months since.
