Bear of the Day: Flutter Entertainment (FLUT)

Flutter Entertainment Company Overview

Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) company Flutter Entertainment (FLUT) is an Irish-American sports betting, gambling, and online gaming company. Flutter Entertainment is the world’s largest sports betting company and owns and operates well-known gambling brands like FanDuel, Betfair, Paddy Power, PokerStars, Sky Betting & Gaming, and Sportsbet. The company’s business is organized into four segments: United States, Australia, UK & Ireland, and International.

Flutter Expenses Soar Amid Regulatory Crackdown

Amid the recent worldwide explosion of online sports gambling, gambling addiction is becoming rampant. Total sports wagers skyrocketed from $4.9 billion in 2017 to $121.1 billion in 2023, with 94% of bets placed online. Although this may seem like a bullish trend on the surface for Flutter’s business, it is not without its downside. According to a 2025 UC San Diego study, gambling addiction search queries have spiked 23% in the US since the landmark Supreme Court sports betting decision in 2018.

As a result, global regulators are cracking down on gambling, increasing regulatory red tape, and making compliance far more expensive. Since 2021, Flutter’s annual expenses have soared from $8.75 billion to over $13 billion.

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Flutter: All-In-One Competition Poses a Significant Threat

One of the most celebrated sales pitches of all time occurred when then-Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs first unveiled the iPhone, which would eventually become the company – and the world’s – most impactful product. In a clever unveiling, Jobs began by telling the audience that “Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone.” Next, in a lengthy and repetitive build-up, Jobs displayed a widescreen iPod with a touch screen, a new mobile phone, and an internet communications device. Finally, Jobs spilled the beans, saying, “Are you getting it? These are not three separate devices!”

Although the financial services industry is very different from the smartphone market, financial companies are following the same playbook. For instance, Robinhood (HOOD) has evolved into a full-service financial firm, offering its users equity and options trading, savings, credit, crypto and access to sports prediction markets. Meanwhile, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), an energy, commodity, and data provider (among other offerings), recently made a bold $2 billion bet in Polymarket, allowing the company to enter the growing prediction market business. The rise of these integrated financial platforms poses a significant threat to Flutter as consumers opt for all-in-one apps rather than several siloed apps.

Analysts are Bearish on FLUT

Finally, according to Zacks Consensus Estimates, FLUT’s year-over-year EPS growth is likely to be negative over the next two quarters.

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Bottom line

Flutter, the world’s largest sports betting company, is facing significant headwinds, including rising expenses and competition from integrated financial platforms.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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