Flutter Entertainment’s expansion bets pay off in first half

Flutter Entertainment (LON:FLTR), formerly known as Paddy Power Betfair, has seen its share price rise by 4.14% to 6,486p (as of 12:10 BST) after revenues climbed 18% during the six months ended 30th June. The growth was driven by a strong performance in the US and Australian markets while UK retail suffered after the change in FOBT rules.

Chief executive Peter Jackson commented: “We have had another productive six months at Flutter Entertainment plc. All divisions are performing strongly on an underlying basis and have responded well to the challenges faced. We are pleased with the progress we are making to build a more diversified and sustainable business.

“In Europe, Paddy Power’s recreational focus and great marketing execution has helped deliver continued growth in customers. The build out of functionality for Betfair continues to make good progress, with sportsbook country specific pricing launched, along with additional languages and currencies. The requirement to switch off a number of international markets has illustrated how important these initiatives are. We have started to trial the second generation of our responsible gambling model and have been pleased to work with the industry in making a number of commitments to promote responsible gambling, which will improve the sustainability of our industry, even if it impacts sector earnings in the short term.

“In Australia, Sportsbet’s ongoing delivery of innovative products, appealing marketing and recreational focus has led to excellent performance. Our decision to increase investment ahead of the introduction of point of consumption tax has been vindicated, with Sportsbet’s earnings close to flat despite this very significant tax increase.

“In the US, our FanDuel brand and product proposition enabled us to take 50% of the sports-betting market in New Jersey in H1. We are delighted with this performance and have been encouraged by the regulatory momentum that has seen 10 states regulate online sports betting since the repeal of PASPA. Cross-sell is an important contributor to our success, with around half our customers in New Jersey coming from our existing daily fantasy business, while strong cross-sales have delivered 15% market share in online casino. We have recently gone live in Pennsylvania, where we are one of the first operators to launch online, and we hope to replicate our success there too“.