Key iGaming HR Moves For September 2023

John Bryant steps into new role at Flutter chair of board

This week saw John Bryant stepping into his new position as the chair of the board at Flutter Entertainment. The company which has brands such as FanDuel has already posted hugely positive figures for 2023, and has finally turned the corner in making its US sports betting operations profitable six months ahead of schedule. While Flutter has had to close down failing brands such as Fox Bet, the new arrival comes at a pivotal time for the growth of the company.

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Flutter welcome its new chair of the board

Flutter Entertainment has its new chair of the board in place as John Bryant takes the role after the initial announcement in April. The Australian businessman will take the position after Gary McCann left the role at the start of the month. Bryant will also take up the post of the chair of the nomination committee.

He previously worked as the chief executive at the Kellogg Company, and will be expected to bring a new lease of life to Flutter Entertainment that owns the brands FanDuel and Paddy Power. As well as working with Kellogg Company, he also occupies a non-executive director role at Coca Cola European Partners, Ball Corporation and Compass Group.

During his 20-year tenure at Kellogg Company, Bryant gained experience in leading the multinational corporation and proved to have the required expertise in areas such as finance, strategies and operational affairs.

Good timing to join the Flutter company

When Bryant was announced as being the new chair of board back in April, the Flutter CEO, Peter Jackson welcomed the new arrival saying that, ‘his experience will be invaluable as Flutter continues to execute its growth strategy.’

It comes at a pivotal time for business as Flutter’s US operations managed to achieve a ‘profitability inflection point’ during the first period of the year. This saw the total revenues for the first half of 2023 soaring past £4.81 billion which is a dramatic increase on the £3.39 billion raised in the first half of 2022.

The majority of Flutter’s income from 2023 has so far been from sports betting with £3.00 billion in revenues raised during this time. The gaming arm of the brand’s business managed to generate £1.81 billion in revenues.

What’s significant is that the US has become the new focus for Flutter’s affairs in the first part of this year. This saw an increase in revenues of 71% with £1.79 billion coming in. A massive 98% of this came from the FanDuel brand that continues to be one of the biggest online sportsbooks in the US.

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Flutter overcomes difficulties elsewhere 

The fact that Flutter Entertainment managed to get its US operations turned a profit for the first time marks a hugely significant moment for the brand. The Dublin-based group said that this moment came a full six months ahead of analysts’ predictions.

Despite this, Flutter still faces a tough situation in other territories as its revenues slipped by 1% in Australia in the first half of 2023. Plus the announcement was made earlier this summer that Flutter and the Fox Corporation broadcasting company would be closing the Fox Bet sports betting platform.

This came after Fox Bet struggled to get any kind of market share in the sports betting realm in the US, and other Flutter brands such as PokerStars have also failed to generate the hoped-for revenues.

Fox Bet isn’t the only sportsbook that has found the current climate hard in the US. Other brands such as PointsBet have had to exit the US market after failing to increase their market share, while WynnBet has also made the recent announcement to close down its operations in a number of states.

However, with Flutter having FanDuel among its portfolio, it looks good to dominate the sports betting market in the US, despite the impending arrival of new platforms such as ESPN Bet and Fanatics.

Conclusion – The future’s looking bright for Flutter 

The appointment of a new chair of board at Flutter comes at a hugely momentous time for the brand. Flutter has had to spend a lot of money to get a toehold in the US market since the lifting of the sports betting ban in 2018. But it looks as though the gamble has paid off as predicted revenues for Flutter in the US are expected to top $15 billion in the long-term.

Much will depend on how Bryant puts his experience to use in guiding Flutter through what’s expected to be another bumper year of growth for the US sports betting industry. But as it stands, it appears that things are looking very positive for Flutter’s US operations.