Flutter says FanDuel's CEO departure delays potential US listing

Flutter Entertainment said today, May 12, that the chief executive officer of its FanDuel business, Matt King, would be leaving the company. The betting group warned his exit would delay FanDuel's potential U.S. listing, reports Reuters.

After the news, Flutter's London-listed shares fell more than 2%.

The owner of Paddy Power, Betfair, and PokerStars also said it was keeping the FanDuel floatation under review and was looking for a successor to King.

King said: "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."

Flutter said King had been the top boss at FanDuel for four years and that he had overseen the growth of the online sports betting and gaming business after a 2018 lift on a ban on sports betting made the United States the next big growth market.

“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,” Flutter Entertainment CEO, Peter Jackson, said in a statement.

Flutter reported last month that its first-quarter U.S. sales more than doubled almost exclusively through FanDuel, in which the Irish company increased its stake to 95% through a $4.2 billion deal in December.

Analysts at Davy Research said in a note that King’s decision to leave FanDuel was "clearly a disappointment,", however, they added that they expect the role to attract "high caliber" candidates due to the opportunity to lead the "best positioned" U.S. sports betting operator.