Entain has revealed it is to invest £100m into Ennovate, a global innovation hub that will foster innovations for the iGaming industry. (Image from entaingroup.com )
Entain, a London-listed iGaming operator behind brands, including Ladbrokes and Coral, has revealed that it will invest up to £100m towards global innovation via its newly launched Global Investment Hub, Ennovate. The firm hopes that this investment in innovation projects, partnerships, and new start-ups will lead to new and exciting experiences for iGaming customers.
A UK-based firm, Entain, will open its first lab in London with £40 million earmarked for investment towards innovation across the United Kingdom. Entain, a huge firm that has ambitions of becoming a global leader in innovative entertainment, is looking to investigate NFTs, virtual reality, and augmented reality as technologies that could play a key role in the future of iGaming.
As things stand, three technology companies have come forward to work within Ennovate to develop new and innovative experiences for customers. Theta Labs, Verizon, and BT will collaborate with Ennovate to produce new and pioneering products and experiences for customers in the sports betting and online casino sectors.
Ennovate is also working alongside not-for-profit organisations, including Chance for Childhood and Climate Hack.AI, to develop innovative technologies that can bring about societal and environmental benefits.
The first Ennovate lab will be based in Charterhouse Square in Farrington, London. Located a stone’s throw from the UK headquarters of other technology firms, including TikTok and Snapchat, this lab will allow leading technology and not-for-profit companies to collaborate on future technologies.
New Ennovate Lab Will Showcase Cutting-Edge Technology
Entain, who has been the subject of takeover bids from the US firms MGM Resorts International ($11bn) and DraftKings ($22bn) throughout 2021, has revealed that the lab will open at some point in Spring. The company will fit the lab with state-of-the-art technology designed specifically to help create the perfect environment to develop and trial innovative new entertainment experiences.
As mentioned, the core initial focus is to explore the creation of products for the metaverse such as utilising non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and working towards implementing virtual and augmented reality technologies into the iGaming industry. The Innovate lab will also offer customers, partners, investors and more access to an Experience Zone. Here, visitors can experience the latest technologies as and when they’re developed.
Initially, Ennovate will focus on exploring the possibilities that three technologies could bring to the iGaming industry and the experience they could help to provide for customers:
- NFTs: Entain is already developing unique digital assets, otherwise known as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for several of its brands. Powered by Theta Labs, one of the tech companies working within the Ennovate Global Innovation Hub, Partypoker has already launched its first official NFTs. These tokens are unique digital files that form a part of the Ethereum blockchain that can be anything from pictures, music, or videos. The NFTs launched by Partypoker will be unique files that showcase videos of some of the biggest, most exciting, and noteworthy poker hands ever seen on the poker platform.
- Virtual and Augmented Reality: The Ennovate Global Innovation Hub will also develop immersive experiences using virtual and augmented reality technology. This is to include the soon-to-be-launched virtual reality multi-sports club experience.
- Virtual Reality Arcades: Entain also plans to open two VR arcade zones customers can visit to enjoy immersive experiences via the latest virtual reality technologies.
Entain Already Has Partnerships in Place
Through the Ennovate Global innovation Hub, Entain continues to build new relationships and form partnerships with other leading global tech companies. So far, Entain has forged partnerships with Verizon and BT, two leading digital communications providers that want to harness the true power of 5G and use it to develop immersive and entertaining experiences across sports, gaming, and interactive entertainment. It makes sense for Verizon to partner with Entain, a company that has shown incredible growth in the US as part of the BetMGM combined group (a partnership between Entain and MGM Entertainment). As for BT, one of the UK’s biggest investors in the research and development of new technologies, this was another logical partnership. The other tech partnership currently in place is with Theta Labs, a company that powers numerous NFT platforms and platforms operating within the metaverse.
While Entain wants the Ennovate Hub to develop technology and innovations that can take the iGaming and entertainment industries into the future, the company also wants these technologies to deliver environmental and societal benefits too. Therefore, the company is also happy to partner with not-for-profit organisations too. The firm is working in partnership with Chance for Childhood, a charity that provides support and guidance to vulnerable children in Africa. The charity will use the hub to continue work on an innovative AI-powered app that will spot hidden disabilities earlier. Climate Hack.AI is another not-for-profit that will work via Ennovate. This NFP is an international competition that attracts smart students from some of the world’s best universities. The competition seeks to harness the power of AI to help combat climate change.
About the launch of Ennovate, Sandeep Tiku, the Chief Operating Officer at Entain stated “Our goal is to bring the most exciting experiences in immersive sport, gaming and interactive entertainment to life as the metaverse takes shape,”. He added, “Working with partners, we believe we can achieve great things faster, both for customers and to apply these technologies and skills to benefit wider society.”
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