Poker players and gamers help boost earnings for Paddy Power owner

The Irish betting group said favourable sports results in the first quarter, the continuation of horse racing in Australia and a jump in the number of people playing poker and gaming online boosted revenues and earnings.

Half-year earnings at Paddy Power, Betfair and PokerStars owner Flutter Entertainment rose 35% year-on-year as a jump in poker and gaming players more than compensated for a global sports shutdown at the world's largest online betting group.

The Covid-19 pandemic called a two-month halt to sports fixtures from mid-March, with events popular with gamblers such as the English Premier League put on hold.

However, the Irish betting group said favourable sports results in the first quarter, the continuation of horse racing in Australia and a jump in the number of people playing poker and gaming online boosted revenues and earnings.

"Ultimately when no other form of entertainment is open to people, they couldn't go out to bars, restaurants, couldn't go to concerts, people were spending small amounts of money (on online gambling)," Chief Executive Peter Jackson told reporters.

Jackson said he was not concerned about growth in problem gambling as the amounts staked were low and Flutter has increased interventions with reckless gamblers.

Flutter shares were 2% higher at €142 by 7.45am after adjusted core earnings (EBITDA) rose to €763 including 2019 and 2020 Stars Group Inc (TSG) revenue, with which it completed a merger in May.

That exceeded the group's expectations and trading to date in the second half was reported as encouraging, boosted by factors including a condensed soccer calendar and gaming resilience as customers swapped betting shops for mobile phone apps.

Flutter raised €893million via a share placement in May to help drive growth as more US states relax betting rules. It will also spend to improve PokerStars and temp more gamblers online across the group, it said on Thursday. 

Reuters