Global gaming group Entain is reportedly looking to sell its Australian venues business, comprising market leading pub poker provider Australian Poker League (APL) and a booming trivia arm.
The Australian Financial Review said Monday that Entain has issued preliminary sales documents to private equity firms with the goal of offloading a business it views as non-core and focusing instead on its Australian sports betting brands Ladbrokes and Neds.
That’s despite the APL dominating the Australian pub poker market with revenues forecast to hit almost AU$13 million (US$8.6 million) in 2025 alone. The APL runs small poker tournaments through the week at around 1,200 partner pubs and clubs as well as a series of larger tournament series via the APL Tour and a hugely popular annual series in Queensland called the APL Million. This year’s APL Million concluded only days ago, generating a record series prize pool of almost AU$16 million (US$10.6 million).
Entain’s Australian trivia business has a database of 451,000 registered players and is expected to generate AU$4.3 million (US$2.8 million) in revenues in 2025, the AFR report claims. It added that non-binding indicative bids are due in October.
Entain acquired APL operator Full House Group in 2023 and holds a 45% share of Australia’s pub poker market.