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Sportsbook operator FanDuel is set for a $31bn valuation after Flutter Entertainment struck an agreement to take complete control.
The Irish-American gambling firm reached terms with Boyd Gaming to acquire the five per cent of FanDuel it does not already own.
The deal will see the final five per cent be transferred to Flutter Entertainment for $1.55bn, valuing the sportsbook operator at $31bn.
Flutter now has a market cap of $51bn (£37bn), roughly the same as NatWest in the UK, and has a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange. Its portfolio includes the likes of Betfair, SkyBet and Paddy Power.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2025, with Boyd and Flutter accepting to work in tandem on “market-access agreements” more widely through until 2038.
Twist in the Flutter deal?
However, the full ownership of FanDuel by Flutter could be short-lived, as Fox Corporation may exercise an option to acquire an 18.6 per cent stake in the firm for below-market value. T
he option was inserted following Flutter’s acquisition of online gambling firm The Stars Group.
Fox chief Lachlan Murdoch said recently that he intended to activate that option, which expires in December 2030, stating in September that Goldman Sachs analysts valued FanDuel at $35bn.
Flutter’s stock price, on the New York Stock Exchange, was up just over one per cent on Thursday to $289.58 a share. Boyd, too, gained by similar – 1.5 per cent – in a move that saw shares closing at $85.37.
“The agreements will also provide Boyd with a fixed fee per state from FanDuel’s mobile sports-betting operations in Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana and Pennsylvania, as well as FanDuel’s online casino operations in Pennsylvania, upon the close of this transaction,” Boyd wrote. “FanDuel will also continue to operate Boyd’s retail sportsbooks outside of Nevada through mid-2026, after which time Boyd will assume responsibility for these operations.”
