Gavin Isaacs steps down as CEO of Entain with immediate effect
Multi-brand operator’s shares plunge as industry veteran departs “by mutual agreement” just five months after taking up the top job
Entain has announced that Gavin Isaacs is to step down from the FTSE 100 firm as CEO with immediate effect.
The 60-year-old industry veteran’s departure, which sent the firm’s shares sliding almost 10% to 670p at the time of writing, comes just five months after he took over the top job from interim CEO Stella David on 1 September.
The Ladbrokes, Coral and bwin parent company said his departure was “by mutual agreement” and that David will resume the role on an interim basis until a permanent replacement is found.
David, who is Entain’s non-executive chair, was previously interim CEO from December 2023 to September 2024.
With David resuming the reins in the interim, Pierre Bouchet, currently senior independent director, will assume the role of non-executive director on an interim basis.
In a statement, David said: “Entain is making strong progress in delivering our strategic priorities. We would like to thank Gavin for his contribution.
“The board is pleased with the group’s performance in 2024 and trading so far this year. As announced on 13 January 2025, full-year 2024 group EBITDA is expected to be at the top of the £1bn to £1.1bn guidance range.”
The company said it was “comfortable” with market expectations for full-year 2025 and that further details on the financial and operational performance for 2024 will be provided on 6 March.
On 4 February, BetMGM, the North American JV between Entain and MGM Resorts International, reported a 7% year-on-year (YoY) rise in full-year net revenue for 2024, as management pointed to a strengthened product and “enhanced player engagement” as key drivers.
Isaacs, who holds both American and Australian citizenship, first joined the industry from a law firm in 1998, becoming president of slots supplier Aristocrat.
In 2006, he joined Bally Technologies as COO, a role he held for almost five years. From there, he made the transition to supplier Shuffle Master as CEO.
Isaacs later spent four-and-a-half years at Scientific Games, followed by a stint as chairman of sports betting supplier SBTech.
When SBTech was swallowed up by DraftKings by way of a $3.3bn merger between both companies and a SPAC in 2019, Isaacs took up a board position.
Finally, he was chairman of casino provider Games Global from June 2022 to September 2024, after which he was appointed CEO of Entain, bringing an end to the operator’s search for a replacement for Jette Nygaard-Andersen.
The Dane departed Entain in December 2023 with immediate effect.
Isaacs’ reign as CEO is even shorter than that of Shay Segev, who replaced long-standing boss Kenny Alexander in July 2020 but quit just six months later to join sports streaming platform DAZN.
With Isaacs also out the door, it means Entain will soon potentially have its fourth permanent CEO in just five years.
David Brohan of stockbrokers Goodbody said Isaacs’ exit was a “disappointing development”.
“The group spent nine months to hire Gavin Isaacs, and by all accounts he was regarded as a strong candidate by stakeholders,” he wrote.
“Entain has delivered several operational improvements in the past 12 months. Despite this, we expect today’s announcement to be poorly received, as we enter another period of uncertainty around management.”
Arnold Ash is EGR’s Executive Recruitment Partner. They support ambitious organisations to identify and attract industry leading executive talent. Find out more here.