Flutter Entertainment believes Q3 was an exceptional performance, with CEO Peter Jackson and CFO Rob Coldrake providing insight into key developments in key markets for Q4 and beyond.
Growth in the UK should never be underestimated
The UK continues to undergo a period of regulatory transformation. While this has caused quite a stir in the industry, Flutter is pleased with the success of its portfolio, which continues to hold significant market share in the UK – “an element that management should not underestimate.”
Coldrake highlighted that momentum is strong in the UK, with the company “continuing to perform extremely well.” This was largely driven by the strong performance of its games business, which was underpinned by a 29% increase in adjusted EBITDA to $342 million.
Jackson added: “Clearly, as we get into 2025, we will start to annualise some of the changes that we know our competitors have made. And I think it will become more difficult to grow market share at the same rate, although we shouldn’t underestimate how strong our product is in the market at the moment.”
Brazil – Preparing for January Launch
The acquisition of NSX has increased interest in Flutter in Brazil, allowing the operator to “move forward” in the market by delivering Flutter Edge improvements to Betnacional’s pricing, product and operating margins.
Notably, Jackson remains optimistic about the market opening on January 1. However, he acknowledged that management has no confirmation of a Bets launch date and there are still regulatory issues.
Flutter is bullish on its opportunities in Brazil, with the investment in the NSX brand providing a foundation for growth in the new market.
Coldrake stated: “We’ve grown there with our brands that we’ve got there already. We’re very excited about the NSX acquisition. And we feel that gives us the ability to really kind of push on in Brazil and investing behind that brand in 2025 as we laid out at the Investor Day, something that we’re planning to do and really take advantage of what we think is a very exciting market with lots of opportunity.”
Australia has potential for a quick recovery
The operator gave a positive outlook for the Australian market, having achieved success despite a bettor-friendly Melbourne Cup result.
AMP growth is leading the positives for Flutter in Australia, according to Jackson, who predicts a return to growth for the SportsBet subsidiary in the market, which has slowed due to ongoing regulatory adjustments.
Jackson said: “We’ve got to remember next year, we’ve got a lot of taxes we’re going to annualise. But I think it just goes back to the strength of the business and the benefits that Australia continues to provide to the rest of the Group through The Flutter Edge in terms of helping us with things like generosity and products.”
Leadership Prospects in Italy
The market, which saw 40% growth, was seen as a key factor in Flutter raising its international division’s guidance by 3%.
Ambitions in Italy are underpinned by the €2.3bn acquisition of Snaitech, in which the international division is set to secure a gold rating for its portfolio of SISAL, Betfair, PokerStars and SNAI.
The latest quarter saw Flutter exceed expectations in the country, a trend mirrored by the group’s wider European performance. Coldrake commented: “What we’ve seen since Sisal has come into the Flutter’s table is the fact that being an omnichannel operator in Italy enables you to continue taking share because of the advertising restrictions there. And we see us kind of compounding that with Snai coming on board as well.”
“Snai is a really standout brand by itself. Snai is a brand in the Italian market that’s synonymous with sports betting. So it’s a very different and complementary brand to Sisal. So we see them both operating alongside one another and really kind of enhancing our position in the market overall and taking that gold medal position.”
US Netflix Partnership
FanDuel achieved positive adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of $58m, reversing a previous loss of $55m. However, the US results are likely to be overshadowed by the poor sports results recorded in October.
Analysts questioned on the call whether FanDuel would maintain its “marketing spend and generosity” for the rest of the year.
Management is backing FanDuel’s promotions, saying “customer acquisition in new and existing states remains strong, with a payback period of 18 months.”
Peter Jackson acknowledged that FanDuel suffered in October due to its generous parlay offers, which provided optimal pricing and accuracy for customers. At the same time, he described the effect as a “significant difference” between Flutter and its U.S. competitors.
Jackson said FanDuel will partner with Netflix to stream NFL Christmas games this holiday season. “We’ll be delighted to deliver our exciting product for Americans to get behind on Christmas Day.”
“From a parlay perspective, you’re right; it does drive a significant improvement in the hold. I think we need to remember that we’ve seen a big step up in parlay adoption year-over-year. Customers really like the product.
“It is a higher-margin product, but the generosity proportion we offer our customers remains consistent as a percentage. So naturally, as margins increase, we will be spending more.”
He also expressed his joy at narrowly overcoming strong opposition to pass a sports betting bill in Missouri.
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