addy Power and Sky Bet owner Flutter’s American arm pushed it back into profit for the first half of the year, as it said it plans to list in the US at the end of this year or the start of next.
The group said it had reached an “inflection point” with US betting business FanDuel, bought for $158 million in 2018 and now dominating the recently legalised American betting market. After years of spending hundreds of millions on ads and bonuses, the division made a £49 million profit in the first half.
The business, which also owns Betrfair and Pokerstars, is set to list its shares in the US alongside London, though there has been speculation this is just a step to being primarily US-listed. Flutter said the listing will happen in “late Q4 2023 or early Q1 2024”.
CEO Peter Jackson said the strong US results “further validate our decision to seek a US listing”.
In the UK and Ireland, profit was up 24% to £396 million thanks to a record number of customers, and a record level of conversion from sports betting to casino games.
The UK business is set to be impacted by a suite of reforms intended to make gambling safer, with specifics behind most of those reforms laid out last month in a series of consultations. Jackson said he was concerned that the reforms as laid out could have a serious impact on Flutter’s Betfair exchange.
“Especially when we think about the exchange, there’s a concern that the consultation doesn’t necessarily reflect the helpful principles set out by the government,” he said.
CEO Peter Jackson said: Peter Jackson said: “The first half of 2023 marks a pivotal moment for the group, with our US business now at a profitability inflection point, helping transform the earnings profile of the group and significantly enhance our financial flexibility.”