International online gaming giant Flutter Entertainment now owns 100% of the sports betting giant FanDuel.
Flutter bought Boyd Gaming’s remaining 5% stake in the company to own FanDuel outright. The deal closed after Flutter agreed to pay Boyd gaming $1.755 billion for the final few percentages.
In other words, Flutter valued the online sportsbook, online casino and daily fantasy sports operator at $35.1 billion. The deal should will be completed in the next few months.
Flutter has complete ownership, but the agreement extends the strategic partnership between the two companies. Boyd provides market access for FanDuel in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania.
The company predicts that the new arrangement will save $65 million. Thus, delivering “on key strategic objectives at attractive economics.”
According to Flutter, FanDuel has 43% market share in sports betting and 27% of the online casino market. Those numbers make FanDuel the top operator in the U.S. among major sports betting sites.
CEO Calls Deal “Transformational”
“Our acquisition of FanDuel in 2018 is one of the most transformational events in our group’s history, with its natural competitive advantages combined with access to Flutter Edge capabilities driving impressive growth to become the well-established and clear leader in US online sports betting and iGaming,” Flutter CEO Peter Jackson said.
“I am really pleased to drive future value for our shareholders by increasing our ownership of FanDuel to 100%. Boyd have been fantastic partners for FanDuel, and we are delighted to be extending our important strategic partnership through to 2038.”
Flutter purchased almost 58% of FanDuel in 2018 after the Supreme Court overturned the virtual ban on sports betting outside the state of Nevada. The company acquired another 37% three years later.
Flutter also owns PokerStars, one of the largest online poker rooms in the world. PokerStars’ live events advisor Kenny Hallaert made the final four players of the World Series of Poker main event this week.
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