SPORTS BETTING

Flutter up 11 per cent as FanDuel consolidates ‘leading’ position

Flutter Entertainment delivered what it said was ‘an excellent performance in Q1 with an 11 per cent increase in AMPs delivering revenue growth of 16 per cent to $3.4bn, reflecting the continued growth of the US business, where revenue increased 32 per cent, and strong iGaming momentum in UK and Ireland.

FanDuel has started the year strongly by consolidating its leadership position in sports with a 52 per cent
online NGR market share (GGR share 46 per cent) for Q1 2024, while FanDuel Casino was the number one
iGaming brand. It had a record 27 per cent iGaming GGR share in Q1, a four-percentage point increase
year on year. FanDuel’s total AMP growth of 15 per cent included a record 2.6 million players for Super Bowl LVIII, the culmination of a highly successful NFL season.The addition of MaxBet in Serbia in Q1 added $47m or two percentage points to Group revenue growth year on year.

Peter Jackson, CEO, commented: “We have had an excellent start to the year. In the US, FanDuel’s top line momentum is translating into strong growth in US Adjusted EBITDA and market share gains. We are focused on continuing to expand our player base, market share, and embedding future profits within our business through disciplined investment. Outside of the US, our focus on delivering the best products for our players is driving good momentum in key markets such as the UK where the launch of Super Sub on Paddy Power has been our most successful product launch to date, and in Italy where we have been taking online sports betting and iGaming market share during Q1 and reached an all-time record in April.

“We are proud to be one of the founding members of the US Responsible Online Gaming Association whose goal is to develop and advance responsible gaming practices. We are a strong advocate for building a sustainable sector in the US. We believe that our global experience positions us well to help lead the way.

“On May 1, shareholders voted to move our primary listing to the US. We believe a US primary listing is the natural home for the Group and we look forward to this becoming effective on May 31. With a greater proportion of the Group’s future profits expected to be generated in the US, we have moved our operational headquarters to New York reflecting the importance of the US sports betting and iGaming market to our business.”

FanDuel launched its sportsbook product in Vermont on January 11, 2024, and North Carolina on March 11, 2024.

The company said: “Consistent with our long-term strategy, we are investing behind the excellent returns being generated from our player promotions and marketing spend, with projected paybacks on customers acquired in the quarter in line with historic trends. North Carolina has been our second most successful launch to date, with 5.3 per cent of the adult population signed up to be a FanDuel customer in the first 45 days. Total new sportsbook and casino player volumes were lower in the quarter, due to a full quarter of significant Ohio acquisition volumes in the comparative period. However, new players acquired in states that launched before 2022 were 12 per cent higher than last year, demonstrating the strong demand for our products well after the initial launch period (pre 2022 states staking +19 per cent). We believe the combination of our high structural sportsbook revenue margin and significant scale result in more efficient payback periods for FanDuel. Where payback periods indicate compelling returns on our
customer acquisition spend, we will continue to make disciplined investment to drive future profitability.”

“Our diversified Ex-US business grew AMPs by 10 per cent and added another podium position during Q1 with the acquisition of MaxBet, a leading omnichannel operator in Serbia. We continued to deliver a very strong performance in the UKI with AMPs2, up two per cent, despite the strong prior year quarter, which benefitted from a halo effect from the FIFA 2022 World Cup. iGaming growth was particularly strong driven by further product improvements with over 100 new games launched during Q1 and improved cross-sell rates. In sportsbook we leveraged the Flutter Edge and launched Super Sub for Paddy Power, replicating the popular Duo feature first introduced in our International division. This feature swaps a substitute player into a parlay bet and early engagement has been positive with over 80 per cent of football customers engaging with the product in March.”

In Italy, Sisal delivered all-time record levels of AMPs, up 22 per cent in March compared with March
2023, together with Q1 market share gains and extending its lead as the market leading brand in the
Italian market in April.