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Flutter shares rocket as bet on US wins big

By Calum Muirhead

THE owner of Betfair and Paddy Power has surged ahead of its rivals in the US after snapping up more than half of the online sports betting market for the first time.

Flutter Entertainment said its FanDuel business ‘strengthened its clear leadership position in US online sports betting’, with a 51pc market share in the second quarter.

Its shares surged 14.4pc, or 16p, to 127p as FanDuel also posted a profit of £18m.

Greg Johnson, analyst at Shore Capital, said: ‘We see this as an important milestone, with the US well on track to becoming fully profitable.’

The American sports betting market was legalised in 2018 and the race to snap up customers has been fierce among both US and UK companies.

FanDuel now operates in 15 states after recent launches in New York, Louisiana and Wyoming. It is also looking to gain approval for California.

Flutter was created by the merger in 2016 of Betfair and Paddy Power. Although the vast majority of revenue is from online, it has 614 betting shops in Britain and Ireland.

Overall revenue at Flutter for the half- year rose 11pc to £3.4bn, while profits climbed from £86m to £112m.

FanDuel reported a 50pc rise in revenue to £870m, helped by a strong US Super Bowl.

Chief executive Peter Jackson said it had seen ‘no discernible signs’ of a slowdown despite the cost of living squeeze. Analysts at Peel Hunt concluded the firm’s shares were currently ‘undervalued.’

But at rival 888, the shares fell 10.8pc, or 17.2p, to 142p after a 66pc drop in half-year profits to £14.4m as revenue slipped 13pc to £332m.

The FTSE 250 firm blamed the decline on implementing its safer gambling practices as well as the closure of its Dutch business last year ahead of a gambling licence overhaul.

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