Paddy Power owner Flutter eyes profit growth after record Super Bowl betting
Paddy Power and Betfair owner Flutter Entertainment has hailed a strong start to 2025 following record levels of online betting during the NFL Super Bowl, despite punters cashing in on player-friendly results during the season.
The gambling giant, which says it is the world's leading online sports betting firm, forecast significant growth this year.
It reported revenues topping 14 billion US dollars (£10.9 billion) for 2024, up nearly a fifth compared with the prior year.
This growth came despite it warning that the NFL American football season had been the most 'customer friendly' in two decades.
Match results that go in the favour of many punters mean betting companies have to pay out more winnings to customers.
Despite this, Flutter said its online betting site FanDuel was the top operator in the US and has seen an increase in the frequency that people are playing.
Some three million active customers placed nearly 18 million bets during the NFL Super Bowl last month, with 470 million dollars (£367 million) wagered during the day, according to the group.
In the UK and Ireland, Flutter said it was boosted by sports results favouring the bookies, particularly in the English Premier League.
It also saw Paddy Power enjoy growth in the market amid its sponsorship of the World Darts Championship, which saw English teenager Luke Littler win his first title.
Flutter moved its primary main market listing from London to New York last year, although it kept a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange where its shares continue to trade.
The firm has rapidly expanded in the US in recent years through its FanDuel sportsbook business as a raft of states have loosened their gambling restrictions.
It revealed to investors that it was forecasting major profit growth in 2025 – with adjusted earnings, before tax and other costs, expected to surge nearly threefold to 1.4 billion dollars (£1.1 billion) in the US states it has already been operating in.
Total adjusted earnings came in at 2.36 billion dollars (£1.84 billion) for 2024 – and are forecast to jump by a third in the year ahead.
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