Flutter Lowers Guidance as Sports Betting Favorites Rack Up Wins

FanDuel owner Flutter Entertainment lowered its guidance after a withdrawal from the Netherlands and a successful month for sports gamblers.

A few isolated events trimmed the company’s full-year EBITDA guidance maximum to $1.74 billion from $1.87 billion.

• Betting favorites won at a disproportionate rate in October, according to CEO Peter Jackson, leading to losses for the company. This included Liverpool’s defeat of Manchester United and heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury’s win over Deontay Wilder.
• The run of unfavorable results docked Flutter’s EBITDA by $81.8 million, per Jackson.
• The company was also made to withdraw from the Netherlands and reapply for an online betting license due to new regulations. The move is expected to cost the company $13.6 million this year and $54.5 million in 2022.

Despite the course correction, the world’s largest betting group saw its sports revenues rise 13% year-over-year in the third quarter to $1.23 billion.

Flutter’s U.S. revenues rose 85% year-over-year to $381.5 million. The NFL season has been a boon to FanDuel, with Jackson noting that staking levels on Sundays regularly match that of the 2021 Super Bowl.

However, the company, which also owns U.K.-based Betfair and Ireland-based Paddy Power, still made more in those two countries ($669 million combined) and Australia ($504.2 million).