Flutter group revenue jumps 46% in Q1 fuelled by surging US numbers

Flutter Entertainment has reported a 46% constant currency (cc) year-on-year (YoY) increase in group revenue for the first quarter of 2023 to £2.4bn.

Releasing a trading update for the quarter, the Dublin-based company revealed group sports revenue of £1.4bn in Q1, up 53% YoY (cc) from Q1 2022 and a 35% YoY increase in gaming revenue, which hit £916m over the same period.

Flutter also confirmed a 30% YoY increase in its average monthly player (AMPs) to 12.3 million during the quarter.

Breaking revenue down by region, the London-listed firm’s US and International divisions delivered the largest revenue growth, with the US arm in particular hitting new highs.

US revenue rose 92% (cc) YoY to £908m, powered by a 116% increase in sports revenue and a 43% spike in revenue from gaming. US AMPs were up 46% to 3.4 million, while state launches in Ohio and Massachusetts drove a 20% rise in new players in the US.

The strong financial performance of the US arm, driven primarily by FanDuel, was reflected by its increase in market share.

FanDuel now holds a 50% sportsbook market share, representing a 14 percentage point increase on Q1 2022, while igaming market share jumped to 23% off the back of a 200 basis point improvement.

Flutter pointed to the increased uptake of its same game parlay products, or bet builders, as a driver for both revenue and customer retention after expanding the offering for NCAA’s March Madness and in-play NBA betting.

In respect of Flutter’s International division, revenue leapt 69% YoY to £605m, off the back of a 187% jump in sports revenue and a 46% increase in gaming revenue during Q1. International AMPs increased 48% to 3.8 million.

The division was bolstered by the addition of Italian lottery operator Sisal to its financials after Flutter completed the £1.6bn acquisition in August 2022. The operator also championed strong growth in Turkey and India as core reasons for gains during the first three months of the year.

Flutter’s UK & Ireland business, which includes Sky Betting and Gaming, Paddy Power, Betfair and Tombola, saw a revenue rise of 17% YoY (cc) to £608m, with AMPs climbing 11% to four million.

At a vertical level, UK & Ireland online gaming revenue increased 17% YoY, with sports revenue close behind, increasing 16% in Q1.

UK & Ireland retail revenue amounted to £77m, up 15% YoY, with an 18% surge in sports betting revenue and a 10% increase in gaming revenue.

Flutter’s Australia division, which encompasses the Sportsbet business, recorded a revenue slump of 4% YoY (cc) to £289m, despite a 9% uptick in AMPs to 993,000.

Challenging Covid-19 comparatives were provided as an explanation, including the unwind of increased player numbers during the lockdown period as a primary reason behind the decrease.

Flutter CEO Peter Jackson flagged Q1 as a “very strong” period for the operator as he referenced continued execution of strategic priorities as key drivers behind this growth.

“In the US, the combination of the FanDuel Advantage and the Flutter Edge drove further market share gains,” Jackson explained.

“We added over 1.5 million customers in the quarter and we remain the clear market leader. Our US sports betting handle of $10.9bn represented almost 60% of the group’s total sportsbook stakes.

“Outside of the US, pro forma revenue growth of 8% demonstrated the benefits of diversification of our portfolio.

“We continued to take share across our UK & Ireland and International businesses while in Australia we did an excellent job defending our leadership position. We remain delighted with the progress of Sisal since the acquisition in August 2022.”

He continued: “In the UK, the publication of the white paper has vindicated the proactive actions we have taken to further embed safer gambling across our organisation through our Play Well strategy.

“The changes will bring consistency to safer gambling protections for customers and make responsible play a priority across all operators, which we strongly support,” Jackson concluded.

Reacting to the financial results, Regulus Partners analyst Paul Leyland waxed lyrical about Flutter’s business model, lauding its impact on the wider market.

“Flutter’s ability to use a strong central platform and local businesses with sufficient scale and flexibility to differentiate is not just paying off, it is changing the nature of the competitive landscape in regulated markets, in our view,” Leyland said.

“While we do not believe that gambling markets ever adopt ‘winner takes all’ economics (outside liquidity-led products), we are now seeing ‘winner makes it very uncomfortable for everybody else’ dynamics which look set to become more pronounced rather than less in the medium term.

“Outside of poker, Flutter’s main competitive threats are no longer from visible regulated companies, but from a burgeoning black market which taking advantage of the group’s increasing compliance-led recreational customer focus, in our view. For regulated markets to work effectively, legitimate VIPs need a champion too,” the Regulus Partners analyst concluded.