In May 2024, Flutter reported that its sports betting business FanDuel has become the largest iGaming operator in the United States, further consolidating its leading position in the sports betting sector.
At the 2024 G2E exhibition, Flutter CEO Peter Jackson reflected on this and discussed with Gambling Insider and Gaming America how FanDuel plans to maintain its top position and the impact of the company's recent acquisitions on 2025.
Jackson said, "I believe that to maintain our leading position in the US, the most important thing is to continue to offer the best products in the market."
"We have the most competitive prices in the market, so customers can get the best value proposition from us, and we are becoming increasingly mature in terms of generosity. Achieving all these goals, the technology we create, and our global expertise will keep us in the lead."
While Jackson is not afraid of the increasingly fierce competition from companies like DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars, Fanatics, and ESPN Bet, he did comment on how Flutter has tried to adopt a media-first approach in its products in the past. The product was not as Flutter's team and its leaders imagined, mainly because "it is difficult to make (Flutter's) marketing and generosity economically beneficial."
When talking about how FanDuel views its competitors, Jackson stated that Flutter and FanDuel's investments far exceed other operators' initiatives in the industry.
"If you don't have the same revenue base as us, you can't invest in the same product development capabilities. You can't be as generous. Your pricing is not as good as ours. It's hard to compete with someone who has our scale and expertise," Jackson said.
Of course, it's worth remembering that while everything is big in the US, the opportunities outside the US are even greater. Flutter also recently held an Investor Day, outlining the company's goals and plans up to 2027, which was also a way to showcase Flutter Edge. The company describes Flutter Edge as "a global enterprise leveraging its scale and strength to create a unique competitive advantage through talent, products, technology, and capital." Jackson expressed that investors are eager to see how Flutter and its iGaming products continue to support the brands under Flutter's global operations.
"Investors want to understand whether your business's moat is sustainable, and I think we have proven that our moat is very wide. We also want to show how big the opportunities ahead of us are. I believe that whether in the US or globally, we have very important opportunities to continue to grow," Jackson said.
Just 13 months after writing this article, Gary McGann's nine-year tenure as a non-executive director ended, and Flutter appointed John Bryant as the new chairman of the board. Bryant has many years of business experience, having worked at companies like Kellogg's, Compass Group, and Coca-Cola's European partner.
"He is an excellent chairman, and we are very pleased with his impact. John himself has been involved in decentralized global operations in the past, so he understands these concepts that are important to us. He didn't have much gaming experience before, but that's okay because we can seek help from the management team that has industry expertise," Jackson said.
Speaking of Flutter's acquisitions, such as the recent acquisition of Playtech's Italian B2C division Snaitech for 2.3 billion euros (2.52 billion USD), Jackson stated that Flutter will not settle for second place, whether in the US or around the world.
The company also acquired a majority stake in Brazil's NSX Group, further expanding its portfolio and driving its global success.
John Bryant has been involved in a decentralized global operation, so he understands these important concepts for us. He didn't have much gaming experience before, but that's okay because we can seek help from the management team that has industry expertise. Jackson said, "When we look at our operations in any market, we find that if we are the largest participant in the market, then our EBITDA profit margin is also much higher than the second or third largest participants."
"This is just the benefit that our operating leverage and scale bring to the business. In Italy, our scale is very similar to Lottomatica, but we aim to be the top player in the market. Therefore, we acquired Snaitech, the transaction will be completed next year, but it must comply with antitrust issues, which will put us in a leading position.
"The Italian team has done an excellent job in business development. Over the past few years, they have benefited greatly from many functions of Flutter, and we look forward to seeing what they can achieve in the market with this additional scale."
Just after the Responsible Gambling Education Month ended, FanDuel donated another $1 million to Operation Hope, a non-profit organization dedicated to financial literacy, Jackson emphasized that responsible gambling (RG) should be a continuous initiative for operators. FanDuel provides many services to consumers to help develop responsible gambling habits and keep consumption within a reasonable range, although the company is currently involved in a lawsuit, the lawsuit is against a gambler who claims that FanDuel's VIP manager contacted him 100 times a day.
"I think this is an ongoing challenge and opportunity for us, allowing us to learn more and better understand what our customers are doing and what drives them. I think from a cultural perspective, we have made great progress in business, but there is still more work to be done," Jackson said.
About the plans currently underway at FanDuel, Jackson said, "We provide some great tools for our customers, and I think the team is shooting an ad for this this week. It will be released later this year, further supporting (consumers), encouraging customers to use the tools we provide for them. But more importantly, we also hope to ensure that the entire industry raises its standards. RG is important, and the driving factors behind it are crucial.
"American customers can use some great tools that show them all the game information for the past 30 days. They can see their deposit situation and how much they have won or lost. We are also considering launching a tool we developed in Australia called 'real-time intervention,' through which we can assess the situation of customers depositing into their accounts, whether these deposits are reasonable, or whether they do not match their historical behavior. At that time, we can intervene, or even stop deposits."
It's hard to compete with someone who has our scale and expertise. Jackson also commented on Flutter and FanDuel's future plans, including 2025 and how the company can continue to develop to maintain its current position.
"We are pleased with the team's performance, they are doing very well, some exciting new products are coming soon, which will keep us ahead in the competition. Of course, it's worth remembering that while everything is big in the US, the opportunities outside the US are even greater.
"Now that they have captured the top market share, their focus is on building an international base. We hope to be successful in the US and continue to develop our business internationally, and we will achieve this by organically investing in the business and returning capital to shareholders.
"A few weeks ago, we announced plans to return $5 billion to shareholders over the next three to four years, but we still have the ability to seize this huge opportunity internationally."
