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Flutter Entertainment

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Flutter Entertainment plc
Company typePublic
NYSE: FLUT
LSE: FLTR
ISINIE00BWT6H894
IndustryGambling
Founded2016
HeadquartersDublin, Ireland[1]
Key people
RevenueIncrease £11,790 million (2023)[2]
Decrease £(549) million (2023)[2]
Decrease £(1,211) million (2023)[2]
Websiteflutter.com

Flutter Entertainment plc is an international sports betting and gambling company. It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and has a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange.[3] It owns brands such as Betfair, FanDuel, Paddy Power, PokerStars, Sky Betting & Gaming, and Sportsbet. Flutter is the world's largest online betting company.[4]

History

[edit]

Paddy Power and British rival Betfair agreed terms for a merger on 8 September 2015. The business is owned 52% by the former Paddy Power shareholders and 48% by the former Betfair shareholders.[5] The merger was completed on 2 February 2016.[6] On 5 April 2016, it was announced that 650 jobs in the United Kingdom and Ireland would be lost at the company.[7]

On 18 October 2016, the company paid out $1.1M to those who bet on Hillary Clinton in the presidential election in the United States, citing a certainty of Clinton's victory. Trump won.[8] In May 2017, it acquired daily fantasy sports operator Draft.[9] In August 2017, it was announced that Peter Jackson, CEO of Worldpay UK, would succeed Breon Corcoran as CEO of Paddy Power Betfair.[10]

In March 2018, the company announced that it would be implementing an electronic self exclusion process through its in-shop app. The new system will replace the current paper based process, and will be implemented across the United Kingdom.[11]

In May 2018, Paddy Power Betfair announced its intent to acquire FanDuel, one of the two leading daily fantasy sports operators in the United States. The deal was part of an effort to bolster the company's assets in the United States, following the overturning of a federal prohibition on sports betting.[12] As part of the acquisition, the company paid $158 million and merged its existing operations in the United States into FanDuel to form FanDuel Group.[13] It holds a 61% controlling stake, with the option to increase its stake to 80% after three years and 100% after five.[14][15]

In October 2018, Paddy Power Betfair was fined £2.2 million by the Gambling Commission for failing to protect customers showing signs of problem gambling, and for failing to carry out adequate anti money-laundering checks.[16]

In February 2019, the company announced the acquisition of a 51% controlling stake in adjarabet, a business operating in the Georgian gambling industry with an option to acquire the remaining 49% after three years.[17]

On 6 March 2019, Paddy Power Betfair announced that it would rebrand as Flutter Entertainment, pending shareholder approval at the company's annual general meeting in May. Flutter was originally the name of a betting exchange acquired by Betfair in December 2001. The company argued that the changing in name was meant to reflect the growing number of consumer brands in its portfolio.[18]

On 2 October 2019, Flutter Entertainment announced its acquisition of Canadian gambling operator The Stars Group for US$6.95 billion, creating the world's largest online gambling company based on revenues. As part of the purchase, media company Fox Corporation (who held a minority stake in The Stars Group after partnering with the company on Fox Bet—a bookmaker co-branded with its Fox Sports division) took a 2.6% minority stake in Flutter Entertainment, and will have the option to acquire an 18.5% stake in FanDuel Group in July 2021.[19][20][21] On 3 December 2020, Flutter announced that it would purchase an additional stake in FanDuel Group from Fastball Holdings for $4.1 billion in a cash-and-stock deal, increasing its stake to 95%.[22][21]

In January 2021 Flutter acquired a majority 50.1% stake of Indian Rummy provider Junglee Games for $67 million.[23]

In April 2021, amid discussion of a FanDuel Group initial public offering, Fox sued Flutter over its option to acquire a stake in FanDuel, stating that Fox's purchase price should be at a $11.2 billion valuation, the same as Flutter's purchase price of FanDuel in December 2020, rather than based on Flutter's valuation of fair market value as of July 2021.[24]

In July 2021, Flutter offloaded the odds comparison website Oddschecker to Bruin Capital for £155m.[25]

In December 2021, Flutter Entertainment announced it would be acquiring the Italian online games provider Sisal Gaming, for €1.913bn/£1.62bn. The transaction was expected to complete during the second quarter of 2022.[26]

In January 2022, Flutter acquired the online bingo company Tombola.[27]

In November 2022, an arbitrator ruled that Fox Corporation had an option to acquire an 18.6% stake in FanDuel for $3.7 billion, based on a valuation of $20 billion, with the price increasing by 5% for each year of the 10-year option.[28][29]

In July 2023, the company announced that Fox Bet will shut down by the end of August 2023.[30]

In September 2023, it was announced Flutter had acquired an initial 51% stake in Novi Sad-headquartered omni-channel sports betting and gaming operator, MaxBet for €141 million in cash.[31]

In May 2024, Flutter moved its primary stock listing from the London Stock Exchange to the New York Stock Exchange with London becoming its secondary listing.[32]

In September 2024, Flutter announced its acquisition of Snaitech, one of Italy's leading gambling operators, in a €2.3 billion deal.[33]

Operations

[edit]

The business operates across four divisions; United States; International; UK & Ireland and Australia.[34]

The United States division includes FanDuel and TVG, a pari-mutuel online betting network, which is active in thirty five states. In New Jersey, the company has an online casino and a horse racing betting exchange.[35] In the U.S., FanDuel operates FanDuel TV, formerly known as TVG Network, which focuses on coverage of horse racing, and studio coverage of mainstream sports from the perspective of betting.[36]

The UK & Ireland division comprises the Paddy Power, Betfair, Tombola and Sky Betting and Gaming brands in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Betfair also operates an online betting exchange.[37] The division operates over six hundred betting shops in the United Kingdom and Ireland.[38] The Sky Betting and Gaming, Paddy Power and Betfair are regulated in the United Kingdom by the Gambling Commission.[39]

In Australia, they own Sportsbet.[40]

The Board is chaired by John A. Bryant.[41]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Flutter opens global headquarters in Dublin following an investment of more than €15.5m". Flutter Entertainment plc. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Preliminary Results 2023" (PDF). Flutter Entertainment. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Flutter shareholders vote to move listing from London to New York". The Guardian. 1 May 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Flutter forecasts profits to double by 2027, unveils $5 billion share buyback". Reuters. 25 September 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  5. ^ "Paddy Power and Betfair merger agreed". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  6. ^ Michael Cogley (2 February 2016). "Paddy Power Betfair begins trading after €8bn merger is completed". Irish Independent. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  7. ^ Bill Wilson (5 April 2016). "Paddy Power Betfair to cut 650 jobs in UK and Ireland". BBC News Online. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  8. ^ "Betting website pays out $1 million because it's certain Clinton beats Trump". CNN. 18 October 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  9. ^ Bradley Gerrard (10 May 2017). "Paddy Power Betfair enters fantasy land on back of US sports acquisition". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  10. ^ Jon Yeomans; Bradley Gerrard (7 August 2017). "Paddy Power Betfair takes a punt on Worldpay boss as new CEO". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  11. ^ Caroline Watson (26 March 2018). "Paddy Power launches electronic self-exclusion process for all UK shops". Gambling Insider. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  12. ^ "Paddy Power Betfair buys fantasy sports site Fan Duel". BBC. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  13. ^ "FanDuel Acquired by Paddy Power Betfair". Variety. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  14. ^ Janko Roettgers (23 May 2018). "FanDuel Acquired by Paddy Power Betfair". Variety. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  15. ^ Evan Grossman. "How FanDuel and DraftKings are taking aim at the world of sports gambling: 'The whole marketplace is going to evolve'". New York Daily News. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  16. ^ A. Monaghan (16 October 2018). "Paddy Power Betfair fined £2.2m for failing to stop bets with stolen money". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  17. ^ "Paddy Power Betfair buys €116m stake in Georgian company". The Irish Times. 1 February 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  18. ^ Barber, Bill. "Paddy Power Betfair group to change name to Flutter Entertainment | Horse Racing News | Racing Post". Racing Post. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  19. ^ Ziady, Hanna (2 October 2019). "Online betting merger brings Paddy Power and PokerStars together". CNN. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  20. ^ Walker, Katherine Sayre and Ian (2 October 2019). "FanDuel Owner Buys PokerStars in $6 Billion Deal". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  21. ^ a b Duprey, Rich (3 December 2020). "Flutter Entertainment Ups Stake in FanDuel to 95%". The Motley Fool. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  22. ^ Goldstein, Steve. "Flutter Entertainment strikes $4.2 billion deal to control most of FanDuel". MarketWatch. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  23. ^ Rakheja, Harshit (3 March 2021). "PokerStars Owner Flutter Entertainment Grabs Majority Stake In Junglee Rummy". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  24. ^ Sherman, Alex (6 April 2021). "Fox files lawsuit against Flutter over FanDuel ownership stake as IPO looms". CNBC. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  25. ^ "Flutter Offloads Oddschecker For £155m". EGR Global. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  26. ^ "Flutter Entertainment to acquire Sisal Gaming". CVC (Press release). 23 December 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2022.[permanent dead link]
  27. ^ "Flutter completes Tombola acquisition". InterGame. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  28. ^ "Arbitrator affirms Fox holds 10-year option to buy stake in FanDuel, but must pay full price". Reuters. 6 November 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  29. ^ Thomas, Ian (5 November 2022). "Fox wins right to buy a stake in FanDuel, but not at the price it wanted". CNBC. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  30. ^ "Fox to Shutter Fox Bet Gambling Business". Hollywood Reporter. 31 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  31. ^ "Flutter eyes Balkan expansion with acquisition of Serbia's MaxBet". Reuters. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  32. ^ "Flutter Entertainment PLC Announces Transition to US Primary Listing Complete". Accesswire (Press release). 31 May 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  33. ^ "Flutter Entertainment Acquires Snaitech in €2.3 Billion Deal". Casin.com. 17 September 2024.
  34. ^ "At a glance". Flutter Entertainment. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  35. ^ Barry O'Halloran (8 March 2016). "Paddy Power Betfair to launch in US with betting exchange". The Irish Times. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  36. ^ Steinberg, Brian (25 August 2022). "FanDuel Readies Launch of Cable Network Focused on Sports Betting". Variety. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  37. ^ Kate Palmer (4 May 2016). "Paddy Power's Betfair merger pays off with £11m profit boost". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  38. ^ "Paddy Power opens its 600th outlet". RTÉ News. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  39. ^ "Find licensees". Gambling Commission. Archived from the original on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  40. ^ Shane Anderson. "Huge Sportsbet result for Paddy Power". RACING.COM. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  41. ^ "Board of Directors". Flutter. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
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