No need for Entain to rush into accepting MGM Resorts offer | Nils Pratley

Owner of Ladbrokes and Coral right to take a wait-and-see approach ahead of US online betting bonanza

It feels surprising that the big beasts of the US gambling scene, Las Vegas casino companies, are such digital dunces that they require UK-listed companies to tell them how to run an online betting business. But a pattern has been established. Slick back-office technology, proved over years in Europe, is seen as critical to cracking the liberalising US betting market.

Caesars Entertainment last year agreed a 2.9bn purchase of William Hill. US money is flowing into Flutter Entertainment, owner of PaddyPower and Betfair. Now MGM Resorts has bid 8.1bn for Entain, as GVC, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, calls itself these days.