FTSE Russell has put Entain on its indicative list of FTSE 100 deletions and, at the same time, among the candidates to join the FTSE 250, alongside housebuilder Persimmon. Moving the other way, into the FTSE 100, are easyJet and Ithaca Energy, a North Sea oil and gas producer.
The indicative list is built on data as of Friday, August 21 and is not confirmed. FTSE Russell will run the final review on data from the close of trading on Tuesday, September 1, and announce the rebalance after the close on Wednesday, September 2. Under the FTSE UK Index Series rules, a constituent drops out of the FTSE 100 once its full market capitalisation ranking falls below 110th place.
Entain shares traded at 517p on the morning of August 27, down 2.3% on the day. The company's market capitalisation at the end of August was about £3.3bn, below the threshold for a place in the top index. The pressure traces to the UK remote gaming duty rising from 21% to 40% from April 1, 2026. In first-half 2026 reporting, NGR rose 5% in constant currency while underlying EBITDA fell 2%, which the company attributes primarily to the tax increase. Morningstar analysts Ollie Smith and Christian Mayes add slower than expected growth in the US market and the October autumn budget, where the new chancellor John Healey may look for additional revenue from gambling companies.
Sell-side targets drift away from the price
Sell-side ratings stay positive. All seven analysts tracked by MarketBeat carry a buy on Entain, with no holds and no sells among them. The average 12-month target is 992p, within a range of 750p to 1,145p, implying upside of roughly 92% from 517p. Those targets have been sliding: the consensus stood at 1,013p a month earlier and 1,170p a year earlier. The two most recent adjustments came on August 17, when JPMorgan lifted its target to 1,050p and Deutsche Bank cut its to 914p.
