Flutter Projects $70B North American Gambling Market By 2030, Driven By FanDuel

Global gaming and sports betting company Flutter Entertainment is betting big on the future of the North American gambling market. In its Investor Day presentation Wednesday, it projected that by 2030, the total addressable market for gambling in North America will reach $70 billion, with $63 billion of that coming from the U.S.

This is a notable increase from Flutter’s previous estimates. At an Investor Day in 2022, it had pegged the mature market reach for the U.S. at $40 billion.

Globally, the company estimates that the total addressable market for gambling will reach $368 billion by the end of the decade.

Flutter’s bullish outlook on the U.S. market is underscored by the success of its flagship FanDuel brand. CEO Peter Jackson emphasized the company’s leading position in the U.S. to Yahoo Finance, stating that it leads the market in both sports betting and iGaming.

Jackson added that the company’s dominance in the U.S. gives it “a lot of confidence around projecting” the growth of the U.S. gaming market. As such, he believes the $70 billion target is right on the money.

Flutter rides FanDuel’s success

FanDuel’s financial performance in the U.S. reflects its growing market power. Flutter projects that FanDuel could achieve $2.4 billion in EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) by 2027. This is a huge leap from the $65 million in EBITDA the company recorded in 2023. The growth will be driven by expanding FanDuel’s presence across more states, increasing user engagement, and enhancing its product offerings.

FanDuel’s domestic dominance is already paying off. Flutter announced on Wednesday that it expects annual revenue to grow by 14% through 2027, reaching approximately $21 billion. That would nearly double its revenue from 2023, which stood at $11.79 billion.

This revenue growth is supported by the company’s increasing presence outside the U.S. as well. Jackson highlighted that nearly 60% of the company’s revenue in the most recent quarter came from international markets.

One of the key moves in Flutter’s international expansion was its recent acquisition of Playtech Plc’s Italian gambling business for $2.6 billion. The deal positions Flutter as the leading player in the Italian market, a strategy Jackson believes will yield outsized economic benefits.

Jackson said of the Playtech deal, “The Italian acquisition, that was a transaction that we did to make sure that we became the No. 1 player in Italy. We know that when we’re No. 1 in the market, we make a disproportionate share of the economics. We capture more of that profit pool than other players do in the market.”

Room to grow

A key component of Flutter’s strategy to grow its U.S. iGaming presence is the continued expansion of its content library. Recently, iGaming supplier Greentube launched its portfolio with FanDuel in Michigan and New Jersey, and there are plans to expand into Connecticut soon.

Earlier this year, FanDuel purchased the iGaming start-up BeyondPlay. BeyondPlay provides two core products: a jackpot management system that allows for customizable and adaptable jackpot campaigns, and multiplayer software that lets several players participate in shared casino game sessions, combining their stakes for a collective experience.

FanDuel is currently operational in 26 states. Jackson believes that as more states legalize forms of mobile gambling, Flutter’s addressable market in the U.S. will only expand.

The U.S. sports betting and iGaming markets have been rapidly growing since the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision to strike down the federal ban on sports betting outside Nevada. However, while many states have since legalized sports betting, far fewer have moved forward with online casino gambling.

Florida, California, New York, and Texas are among the possible candidates for eventual iGaming legalization. All four, because of their sizes, would be significant contributors to FanDuel’s bottom line. Jackson is confident that several states will eventually join the market, despite recent challenges.

Flutter’s projections, combined with an announcement that it will repurchase $5 billion in shares, caused its stock to jump. It started at $229.40 on Wednesday morning before hitting $247.60 two hours later. At publication time on Thursday, it was $243.34.