EGR Power 50 2022: 1. Flutter Entertainment
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1. Flutter Entertainment(1)
Financials : Group revenue in H1 2022 rose 9% YoY in cc to almost £3.4bn. Pro forma revenue and AMPs both increased 11% YoY in the third quarter of this year
Strategy & impact : Has used mega-mergers and bolt-on acquisitions to drive scale and growth. Responsible gambling has become a big focus, including the £500 per month net deposit limit for under 25s in the UK&I
Geographic reach :Top of the tree in online US sports betting with FanDuel Sportsbook’s 42% online market share. PokerStars is the brand in Flutter’s portfolio with the widest global footprint, while the foray into India is one to watch
Influence & leadership : Remains the largest listed online operator in the world and boasts some of the most recreational betting and gaming brands
That’s a hat-trick for Flutter Entertainment as the FTSE 100 giant once again tops the EGR Power 50, thanks largely to its colossal scale and broad panoply of brands across the main verticals. The ace in the pack continues to be FanDuel Sportsbook, the leader in US sports betting with a 42% online market share and almost £600m of revenue generated in the third quarter, up 82% year on year (YoY) in constant currency (cc). In fact, Flutter revealed on a results call in November that its subsidiary now averages over one million customers on each NFL Sunday.
Furthermore, FanDuel Sportsbook is the market leader in 12 US states due, in part, to the $2.5bn invested in the brand over the past 10 years. Meanwhile, the company recently launched cable channel and streaming app FanDuel TV, created out of the rebrand of horseracing channel TVG. On the product front, FanDuel Sportsbook excels, backed up by it topping Eilers & Krejcik Gaming’s (EKG) Q3 app testing and, this year, an enhanced same-game parlay offering was introduced, which also includes the option to build bets in-play.
Away from the US, Flutter is the market leader in Australia with Sportsbet, while in India, where Flutter has a majority stake in the country’s number two rummy operator, Junglee Games, revenue leapt 78% YoY in Q3 fuelled by a 75% increase in players. The £402m acquisition of bingo-led Tombola, completed in January, has strengthened Flutter’s gaming hand and taps into the recreational and female player demographic. (Flutter’s £1.62bn purchase of Italian online operator Sisal completed in August, so we are keeping them separate in the rankings.)
The UK & Ireland (UK&I) division has been providing modest growth, with safer gambling measures having an annualised revenue impact of £48m in H1. What’s more, casual betting brand Sky Bet seems to have lost its mojo of late and the Betfair Exchange feels neglected, exacerbated by diminishing liquidity. In July, it was all change at the top of Flutter UK&I when it revealed the CEO, 20-year industry veteran Conor Grant, was stepping down and being replaced in September by Ian Brown, the former CEO of Booking.com’s Trips division. Big shoes to fill. As for Flutter’s chances of retaining the EGR Power 50 crown in 2023, the addition of Sisal will make this online powerhouse very hard to topple.