Entain to create £40m tech hub in London

Entain is set to launch a £40 million global innovation technology hub in central London as the operator looks to diversify its operations away from gambling.

The new hub, dubbed Ennovate, is part of an initial £100 million investment into projects and start-ups with UK, European and global partners.

The London hub will be based in Charterhouse Square in Farringdon – close to the UK headquarters of TikTok and Snapchat – and will see Entain collaborate with tech giants Verizon, BT and Theta Labs to develop “game-changing experiences for customers in gaming and interactive entertainment”.

The hub, which is scheduled to open this spring, will become home to Entain’s innovation technology team.

It will boast the latest technology for Entain and its partners to develop new products for the metaverse, as well as VR spaces where people can interact.

Entain will also explore non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as the craze continues to grow, with each of its brands set to have specific NFTs developed for it.

In fact, partypoker is to become the first Entain brand to launch official NFTs, powered by partner Theta Labs, with each NFT featuring an iconic moment from partypoker history.

On VR, Entain said it would look to develop a multi-sport club experience, as well as launch two locations which will host retail VR experience zones for customers to trial VR products.

Additionally, Entain also confirmed the new hub would host accelerator and incubator programmes to foster start-up ideas.

The accelerator programme will initially invest up to £5m in individual initiatives with the operator already inviting start-ups to participate in the scheme which is set to launch in the summer.

Jette Nygaard-Andersen, Entain CEO, said: “We aim to lead the way with new, exciting products and experiences for our customers and use our cutting-edge technology to drive innovation in sports, games and interactive entertainment for the metaverse.

“In addition, we want to use our position as a global technology leader to drive innovation on a broad scale. Working with partners around the globe, Ennovate will demonstrate how Entain’s industry-leading technology can both revolutionise consumer experiences and bring real value to,” she added.

Sandeep Tiku, Entain COO, said: “Our goal is to bring the most exciting experiences in immersive sports, games and interactive entertainment to life as the metaverse takes shape.

“We believe that by working together with our partners, we can achieve great things faster, both for our customers and in applying these technologies and skills to the benefit of society at large,” he added.

Nygaard-Andersen recently spoke to EGR about Entain’s interactive entertainment ambitions as the company strives to triple its TAM to $162bn.