FanDuel's emphasis on iGaming led to significant progress for Q3, as the US' leading sports betting operator moved up to second position for online casino market share.
Legalized iGaming is still only available in a handful of states, but within those key markets, FanDuel has moved up a position – behind market leader BetMGM and ahead of the likes of Caesars and DraftKings.
FanDuel's bread and butter – the online sports betting market – saw it remain with an industry-leading 47% share of the market, despite ramped-up efforts from close competitor DraftKings.
FanDuel CEO Amy Howe, who joined us for a Huddle interview in Las Vegas, shared the stage with DraftKings CEO Jason Robins at a G2E keynote speech for the second year running.
The two shared a noticeable chemistry as healthy rivals and that rivalry continued in the operators' respective Q3 figures. While DraftKings last week reported Q3 revenue of $790m, a year-over-rise of 57%, Flutter's US division (comprising of FanDuel, TVG and PokerStars but with FanDuel accounting for close to 100% of the total overall) has reported Q3 revenue of £668m ($820m).
That revenue represents a 12% yearly rise and a 20% increase at constant currency. Most notable, however, is the yearly growth at constant currency in iGaming – a 52% rise compared to just 10% in sports.
As a result, the average monthly player total also went up 38% to 2.6 million. Aiding this effort was an "excellent start to the NFL season," as well as FanDuel's iGaming strategy, according to parent company Flutter.
Much like DraftKings, FanDuel is also emphasizing its "efficient acquisition" and "strong retention."
But FanDuel stakeholders may be concerned that DraftKings is closing the gap in terms of overall revenue. Never before have their respective quarterly revenues been separated by so little – roughly $30m on this occasion.
Where FanDuel still holds the advantage is profitability, something Flutter CEO Peter Jackson was understandably keen to highlight: "We are particularly pleased by the great progress we are making in the US. We are the first online operator to achieve structural profitability, and the strong ramp in EBITDA during 2023 will continue into 2024 and beyond, as our profit margins expand materially.
"The NFL season is off to an excellent start with our product leadership driving average monthly player growth of 38% to 2.6 million in the quarter. I am excited about our plans heading into the sports-rich months of November and December as we execute on our winning strategy which, combined with the FanDuel Advantage, keep us leading the industry."
Flutter's overall share price actually fell 10% upon the release of its Q3 report, while DraftKings' price has been rising considerably, up 15% over the past five days.
