US growth offsets UK struggles as Flutter Q1 2022 revenue jumps 6%

Flutter Entertainment has reported a 6% year-on-year (YoY) increase in revenue to £1.5bn ($1.87bn) on a constant currency (CC) basis for the first quarter of 2022, lifted by successful quarters in the US and Australia.

Delivering its trading update for the period, the Dublin-headquartered operator revealed sports betting revenue growth of 5% YoY to £930m, with igaming revenue rising 9% to £636m over the same period.

Flutter’s average monthly player (AMP) base swelled by 15% YoY during Q1 to 8.5 million players.

At a divisional level, Flutter’s US business led the way, delivering a 45% YoY revenue increase to £429m, thanks in part to a 43% jump in AMP’s and strong performance during Super Bowl LVI and, subsequently, college basketball’s March Madness.

Flutter also said successful launches in New York and Louisiana buoyed US revenue, something which saw customer stakes more than double to $7.7bn.

In particular, US sportsbook revenue (primarily derived from FanDuel) rose by 89% YoY, growth which offset a series of customer friendly results costing the US division $132m during Q1.

In the UK, Flutter’s online revenue dipped 20% during Q1 despite a 15% increase in AMP’s during the period. This, the firm said, was due to the impact of safer gambling measures causing a £30m impact during Q1, coupled with favourable sports results and tough comparatives with Q1 2021.

Flutter’s UK retail operations returned to growth during Q1 2022, rising 100% YoY to £65m following the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions.

In Australia, revenue from the Sportsbet business rose 8% YoY to £291m during Q1 2022, with AMP’s growing 10% to 915,000 players despite the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in the Australian market causing a “more challenging environment” for the firm during Q1.

“Structural improvements in margin driven by our in-house pricing capabilities and product mix funded an increase in promotional spend,” Flutter said in its results statement.

“This led to strong player engagement and good retention of the 2021 Covid-enlarged customer base. Staking was 7% higher as a result with net revenue margin broadly flat at 11.5%,” the operator added.

At a international division level, revenue dropped 5% in Q1 to £327m due to the continued headwinds arising from the Netherlands, Germany and the ongoing war in the Ukraine.

Excluding these headwinds, Flutter’s international revenue would have grown 6%, with the operator focusing on a number of growth markets including Canada, Brazil, India, Georgia and Armenia.

Flutter Entertainment CEO Peter Jackson hailed the quarter as a positive one for the global gaming and betting giant, including the impact of its Positive Impact Plan launched in March.

“In the US we had another exciting quarter as FanDuel continued to deliver unparalleled scale, with the US accounting for over half of all stakes for the Flutter Group in Q1,” Jackson said.

“We beat a number of FanDuel records in the quarter; Super Bowl Sunday was the single biggest day ever for new customers and we had over 1.5 million active customers on the day. March Madness this year also proved our most popular season yet attracting 19 million wagers across the tournament.

“In the UK and Ireland we launched several new products in the quarter. I look forward to the imminent release of the UK Government’s white paper on its review of the gambling act.

Jackson continued: “In Australia, Sportsbet delivered good growth from ongoing customer driven momentum, with excellent retention of players acquired in 2021.

“Our International business benefitted from strong performance in focus markets and we hope to complete the Sisal acquisition in Q3.

“With our enlarged recreational customer base, winning position in the US and ongoing focus on sustainable growth, our business remains well placed for the future,” he added.

Flutter’s shares were up almost 6% to £87.50 in early trading on the London Stock Exchange.