UPDATE 1-BetMGM turns profitable in second-half of 2023

(Adds details from statement in paragraphs 4 & 5, background in paragraphs 3 & 6, share movement in paragraph 9)

Feb 8 (Reuters) - U.S. sports-betting service BetMGM turned a profit for the first time in the second half of 2023, as the joint venture between MGM Resorts and Entain saw strong demand from punters cashing in on sporting events.

Ladbrokes-owner Entain said on Thursday the venture posted a core loss of about $67 million for the year and its net revenue from operations grew 36% to $1.96 billion.

The online sports betting industry rebounded with the return of sporting events after the easing of pandemic restrictions.

BetMGM has a market share of 14% in U.S. sports-betting and iGaming, the company said in a statement.

The company was looking to tap further growth in its sports offerings and leverage the untapped Las Vegas omni-channel advantages, BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt said in a statement.

Entain last year acquired U.S.-based Angstrom Sports, a sports modelling, forecasting and data analytics company, in an effort to improve BetMGM's product using predictive analytics.

Dublin-based Flutter became the first online betting operator to turn a profit in the United States.

However, its U.S. unit Fanduel last month posted growth below its expectations due to a series of customer-friendly results.

Shares of Entain were up 1.7%, while those of MGM were up 1.2% as of 1421 GMT. (Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)