Flutter announced its Q2 earnings on Thursday, with group revenue increasing by 16% to $4.19 billion. Growth was largely driven by impressive iGaming results in the US.
Flutter’s US FanDuel business accounted for 43% of its group revenue. FanDuel closed the quarter with $1.8 billion in revenue.
Although sportsbook remained FanDuel’s largest segment, with $1.2 billion in revenue, iGaming was the standout, reporting a 42% rise in US iGaming revenue to $507 million.
Flutter CEO Peter Jackson said during the company’s earnings call its Q2 results reflected a quarter of “meaningful strategic progress”.
“Our performance in Q2 positions us well to deliver on our strategic objectives and execute strongly throughout the content-rich calendars for NFL, NBA and European soccer during the remainder of the year,” he said.
“Looking ahead to the remainder of the year, our strong performance in the first half of 2025 underlines the strength of Flutter’s fundamentals,” Jackson outlined. “I feel confident as I consider our positioning heading into the second half of 2025.”
The results led Flutter to slightly increase its full-year guidance. It now expects revenue to reach $17.26 billion in 2025, up from its previous target of $17.08 billion.
Flutter net income hit by Boyd buyout and tax hikes
Despite double-digit revenue growth, the company’s net income dropped 88% to $37 million due to increased non-cash charges relating to tax and it buying the remaining 5% stake in FanDuel from Boyd Gaming.
Net income was also impacted by a non-cash loss of $81m in the value of Fox’s option liability. This is compared to a $91m gain in Q2 2024. This relates to Fox having an option to acquire an 18.6% equity interest in FanDuel on or before December 2030.
Flutter also faced restructuring, integration and transaction costs of $89 million during the period, in addition to a $209m charge relating to its Snaitech and NSX acquisitions.
Jackson said the deal with Boyd had come with an attractive valuation and helped it secure state market access at more favourable terms. In its latest full year guidance, it said buying Boyd’s shares would result in market access savings of $35 million in existing states for 2025.
“This is also a great example of the longer-term cost levers we have available, which help underpin our confidence in the delivery of our long-term adjusted EBITDA margin targets,” Jackson said.
US growth slow compared to competitors?
While FanDuel’s sportsbook revenue increased 11% year-on-year, growth slowed compared to previous quarters. An analyst note from Regulus Partners pointed out Flutter’s overall US Q2 growth of 17% was behind that of competitors DraftKings (37%) and BetMGM (36%).
Regulus suggested FanDuel’s dominance in regards to its parlay product was “rapidly being eroded”.
Flutter said it closed the quarter with a 41% sportsbook market share in the US based on GGR and a 27% share of the iGaming market.
Betting handle edged up by 7% to $11.7 billion, with adjusted EBITDA in the market significantly rising by 54% to $400 million, from $260 million in Q2 2024.
Despite slowed growth in the segment, Jackson said Flutter retained its “clear position” as the No. 1 operator in the US.
Flutter’s tax burden
But an increasingly challenging regulatory environment in the US is having a clear impact on the business.
Jackson said he was disappointed by Illinois’ recent decision to introduce a per-wager surcharge on sports bets.
Q2 figures showed Flutter would take a $40 million EBITDA hit from tax impacts in New Jersey, Illinois and Louisiana in 2025.
But through continued lobbying, Jackson is confident the sector has made “meaningful progress in encouraging law-makers to adopt a balanced approach”.
“On the US regulatory front, I believe our sector is making meaningful progress in encouraging lawmakers to adopt a balanced tax strategy, which promotes market growth and investment.
“We are confident, as evidenced by the majority approach to date, that Illinois is an outlier and that lawmakers generally will recognise the importance of adopting a balanced approach,” Jackson said.
Adjusted EBITDA, meanwhile, is now expected to hit $3.3 billion, upped from the prior objective of $3.18 billion.
International growth remains double-digit
Flutter’s international segment grew its revenue by 15% in Q2, to $2.4 billion. Adjusted EBITDA for the segment also increased 13% to $591 million. This was powered by a 63% (on a constant currency basis) uptick to revenue in Southern Europe.
Sportsbook revenue growth in Flutter’s international markets was 4%, with the company noting the comparative period of 2024 was particularly strong due to Euro 2024, which accounted for 6% of handle in Q2 2024.
Jackson highlighted Italy as a standout market during the period, noting its market share reached 21.7% in Q2, and up to 30.2% for online specifically.
The Snai acquisition, which closed in Q2, contributed 52 percentage points of the growth to the segment.
Flutter’s acquisitions of both Snai and NSX in Brazil contributed 11 percentage points to the overall international business’ growth during the period.
“Both acquisitions are driven by a clear strategic rationale to expand our footprint in attractive, regulated markets while leveraging the Flutter Edge to drive operational and product improvements,” Jackson said.
Comparatively, UK and Ireland revenue decreased 5% on a constant currency basis, to $936 million. Sportsbook revenue here was down 17% (CC) when compared to the Euros in Q2 2024.
Igaming, however, ticked up 10% (cc), but Flutter said it was impacted by Gambling Act Review-led player restrictions.
Regulus noted the completion of a platform update in UK&I will “likely stop the rot” and kickstart growth once again.
Meanwhile CEE revenue was up 5% (cc) and Asia Pacific 7% during the second quarter.
LatAm region a key target
Brazil won the prize for most growth during the period (+175%). Although there was no legal online betting in the market prior to 1 January, so the figure is compared to 0 on a year-on-year basis.
Revenue came in at $44 million, benefiting from the acquisition of a 56% stake in NSX, the parent company of Betnacional. The acquisition contributed 185 percentage points of growth to the Brazil segment.
The company was combined with the Betfair Brazil busines in Q2 to create a Flutter Brazil business, led by ex-NSX chief João Studart.
The figures were offset slightly by a year-over-year decline for Betfair Brazil, “driven by adverse sports results and the continuing impact of the customer re-registration friction post regulation”, the operator said.
Flutter previously stated it estimated NSX gave it an 11% market share in Brazil.
Jackson said further LatAm expansion could be on the cards, explaining: “When we sit here and evaluate what the opportunities are around the world, we think about Latin America, we think about many markets where we’re not operating in.
“But we have to evaluate where do we think is the best place to deploy our capital. I mean, there’s a lot of soccer [that] goes on in Latin America. There’s some interesting opportunities there.
“So look, they’re all in the mix as we think about where we’re going to be deploying our capital. Clearly, the team are thinking about other opportunities around the world in Latin America, Europe.”
Flutter’s Q2 revenue was powered by strong iGaming growth across US and UK&I, but betting growth has slowed. Brazil remains a huge opportunity for the operator.