Flutter Entertainment has announced a trading update for the three months ended March 31 that showed online revenue growth of 42 per cent, driven by online player growth of 36 per cent.
Average monthly players increased 36 per cent globally, with double digit growth across all divisions and the US up 132 per cent. There was strong online revenue performance across all regions, with the UK and Ireland up 35 per cent, Australia 59 per cent, international seven per cent and the US 135 per cent.
Peter Jackson, chief executive, commented: "2021 is off to a strong start for the group. We continued to significantly grow our global player base which in turn drove a 42 per cent increase in our online revenue.
At the same time, safer gambling continues to be a key priority across our markets with new measures introduced including our Gamban partnership in the US and development of the planned Affordability Triple Step in the UK.
Our UK and Ireland brands continued the strong momentum from 2020, taking further market share with customer acquisition up 59 per cent during the Cheltenham Festival.
"In Australia we have been highly focused on retaining retail customers that migrated to our platform during 2020 and while it is still early days, we have been pleased with the retention rates to date.
"In our International division, the investment we are making to enhance player generosity and reinvigorate the PokerStars brand has seen an encouraging early response from customers.
"In the US, we continue to lead the market with revenue of almost $400m in the quarter. We believe that the quality and breadth of our offering remains a key differentiator for FanDuel sports and the key driver of our leadership position.
"Our US business had over 1.6 million average monthly players in Q1, meaning that it is now twice the size of our Australian business and is quickly closing in on our International division.
"We are continuing to consider our options with respect to a possible US listing of a small shareholding of FanDuel Group. No decision has been made at this time and we will update the market as appropriate.
"As restrictions begin to ease and retail reopens across a number of markets, we remain confident that our diversified business leaves us well placed to deliver sustainable growth going forward."
