Half Year 2021 Entain PLC Earnings Call Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Ivor Griffith Rees Jones - Peel Hunt LLP, Research Division - Analyst : Can I ask 3 things. On Germany and casino since the start of this month, is it possible to offer slots? Because I can't work out the economics of the permitted margin and the duty unless you charge, I don't know, some sort of fee to players? That was the first thing. Are there slots at the moment? And secondly, and again, I may have misunderstood, but why borrow in dollars when you're some time away from having U.S. inflow? Or have you just swapped the dollars because they were cheap and it's part of normal treasury operations? And thirdly, and the way I have read this morning's announcement is -- and I'm sure you don't intend this, the innovation doesn't pay off because there's GBP 100 million of cost savings, of which we're taking GBP 25 million of ongoing innovation costs, which if I carried on with that assumption would mean that the innovation is not an investment. It's just a cost. Is it that the innovation is expected to pay off much later. So could you just talk about the expected payback on that square-like circle?

Question: Ivor Griffith Rees Jones - Peel Hunt LLP, Research Division - Analyst : Can I just come back on the innovation. But I think what you're saying is that it is a necessary ongoing cost of the business within the general platform to continue to grow, not going to deliver additional growth beyond what you were expecting? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. AUGUST 12, 2021 / 7:30AM, ENT.L - Half Year 2021 Entain PLC Earnings Call