SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Matt King, the CEO of Flutter Entertainment‘s FanDuel brand, has announced his intention to end his tenure as leader of the FTSE100 firm’s flagship US wagering unit.
King’s decision comes as Flutter continues to assess the possibility of listing a ‘small stake’ of FanDuel in the US, and the operator has acknowledged that the CEO’s departure ‘will affect the timing’ of such a listing, although King has confirmed that he will remain with the firm throughout the recruitment process.
Furthermore, the loss of its CEO may be offset by Flutter’s strong Q1 trading results, in which it revealed that FanDuel’s revenue growth had outpaced both its European and Australian assets, increasing by over 135%.
The brand accounted for 91.6% of Flutter’s stateside revenue in Q1 2021 and 89.1% for the full 2020 trading year, with the remaining 8.4% in first quarter earnings generated by Fox Bet, which includes PokerStars US.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Matt for his considerable contribution in helping to make FanDuel the US market leader it is today,” said Peter Jackson, CEO of Flutter Entertainment.
“FanDuel has achieved so much in the three years since PASPA was repealed and that is due in no small part to Matt’s leadership and the strong team built around him. While we will be sorry to see him leave, he leaves the business in great shape.
“We are starting the process of looking for a new CEO for FanDuel and we remain focused on maintaining our leadership position in the US market.”
King served as CEO of FanDuel for four years, during which time he oversaw the brand’s transition from the online daily fantasy sports space into the burgeoning US online sports betting and gaming market.
Speaking to SBC News in March, King remarked: “I think that we are here to bring sports viewing and wagering into the 21st century. Our mission is to bring in sports fans from the sidelines and engage them with their favorite sport, just like they have been accustomed to with other digital products.”
His approach to the transition centred strongly around ‘getting the basics right,’ as FanDuel had to restructure its product cycles and operational frameworks in order to meet the regulatory requirements of different US states.
The outgoing CEO commented: “It has been a privilege to lead FanDuel over the last four years through what has been an incredibly exciting period for the company.
“With FanDuel well positioned for the next chapter of its growth and always an entrepreneur at heart, now is the time for me to take on new opportunities as the next step in my career. I want to thank Peter and the whole Flutter team for their unwavering support since acquiring FanDuel three years ago.
“I have no doubt that the business will continue to go from strength to strength and I wish all of my colleagues the very best for the future as they pursue the next stage of growth.”
Flutter previously conducted a restructuring of its boardroom following the departures of company directors Divyesh ‘Dave’ Gadhia and Peter Rigby, who were replaced by VICE Media CEO Nancy Dubuc and US corporate finance expert Holly Koeppel.
