FanDuel Continues to Dominate the US Market
Flutter was willing to pay a massive purchase price due to FanDuel’s continued success in the US market. The platform is estimated to own around 43% of the country’s sports betting market share, combining with DraftKings to capture almost 90%. FanDuel is also estimated to own over 25% of the smaller iGaming market in the US.
Just days after the Boyd sale was announced, the New York State Gaming Commission’s June revenue report showed they remain ahead of DraftKings in the industry-leading market.
Boyd Makes Profit, Takes Back Retail Locations
Flutter isn’t the only winner from the FanDuel purchase. Boyd Gaming may be losing its stake in the wildly popular sportsbook, but it will walk away with a massive profit. Given the company’s many other gambling investments, the loss of FanDuel won’t mean their exit from the growing industry.
“This transaction unlocks the tremendous unrealized value that our investment in FanDuel has created for our Company,” Boyd CEO Kevin Smith said in a Thursday press release. “As a result, we are in a significantly stronger financial position to continue executing our strategy of investing in our properties, pursuing growth opportunities, returning capital to our shareholders, and maintaining a strong balance sheet.”
As a part of the deal, Boyd will now take back control over some of the retail sportsbook locations previously held by FanDuel.
Flutter Control Will Likely Be Short-Lived
While Flutter now has full ownership of FanDuel, it isn’t likely to last very long. Fox Corporation has a deal in place that gives it an option to purchase an 18.5% stake in the company. CEO Lachlan Murdoch has indicated that the company plans to exercise that option, but has yet to take any steps towards doing so.
The option was created when Flutter bought the Stars Group in 2019, which had a deal with Fox Bet. The media giant has yet to release a timeline for the purchase, but has until 2020 to decide.