Latest Flutter and FanDuel #1 Earnings Report Indicates Boom for Overall US Sports Betting Market

• Flutter & FanDuel’s Year-End Report of $1.4b in revenue exceeded ambitious forecast
• All sportsbook operators pleased of news reflecting huge market increase in 12 months
• FanDuel has ambitious plans to hold leading share, increase growth in new US markets

The latest year-end earnings report for Flutter Entertainment proved their position as Number One holders of the sports wagering throne within the United States. But more illustrated the astounding progress sports wagering overall has achieved in America over the past twelve months.

Flutter Entertainment, who own FanDuel and PokerStars released their Full Year Earnings report for the Year 2020 this week. It showed an EBITA of $1.4 billion. A figure up from initial forecasts of $1.275 billion estimated in November and an actual increase of 23% versus the prior year.

The figures quoted excluded the legal US betting market, where the group accounted for an EBITDA loss of $170 million. The loss has been attributed to heavy investment by the Flutter Group, who merged with The Stars Group (TSG) in May and increased its holdings investment with FanDuel in November 2020.

In total Flutter accounts for a 40% share of the US legal betting space and the report concludes there were positive contributions to revenues from those states which had been operational prior to the year 2020 in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. They expect a potential of $20 billion for the US market by the year 2025 as a majority of states legalize sports wagering and FanDuel maintains at least their 40% component.

Addressing their US share, Flutter noted via FanDuel that their revenues were higher than their two largest competitors including main rival DraftKings Sportsbook. Flutter executives also noted the booming recent interest in sports wagering, saying that FanDuel was used by more customers during last month’s Super Bowl week than the entire span of 2019.

The first seven weeks of 2021 has seen Flutter gross revenues increase by 36%

Flutter CEO Peter Jackson added these comments on the report:

We delivered a very strong financial performance in 2020, benefitting from our scale and diversification. We continue to grow our recreational player base across key regions. In Q4 alone the Group had over 7.6 million monthly online players. Nowhere has our growth been more evident than in the US, where we have consolidated our #1 position in this crucial market with customer economics that continue to exceed our expectations, finishing this year as the first US online operator to reach over $1.1 billion in gross gaming revenue.

FanDuel vs the Market

The sports wagering market has steeped in competition over the past six months with FanDuel (Flutter) having many operators join them in several emerging areas. Chief competitor DraftKings has also increased gross gaming revenue with large sportsbook operators including BetMGM, PointsBet, FOX Bet among other strong newcomers vying for each state’s market share.

The sports wagering market, currently dominated by online betting due to convenience and the continued presence of COVID-19 has seen major expansion since the Supreme Court reversed PASPA (the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992) in May 2018.

Next Steps for FanDuel

The incumbent year will include growth into many new US states as legislation steps move forward. FanDuel will surely be among those accepted for licensing, with already taken previous steps in selected states to begin operation as soon as possible. They have also begun partnerships as a goal to increase potential market share.

Like all sportsbook operators, it is assumed they will intensify their pursuit into “live-in play betting”.  Along with promoting heavily to obtain new sign-up customers in new markets.

At this juncture, talk of FanDuel operating as a stand-alone company has not been confirmed, with management making no comment.