Flutter’s US success could turn sour for Dublin exchange

Dublin-based gambling group Flutter reached an important milestone in the first half of this year, with its US business moving into the black for the first time reporting a profit in the period of $63 million. With the American market now liberalised for gambling, the opportunity in the US is potentially huge. That was the spur for the company’s decision to pursue a New York stock market listing.

Such a move is intended to give Flutter and its US subsidiary, FanDuel, a higher profile and access to deeper capital markets there, promote great liquidity in the shares and give it the potential to pursue a primary US listing and access to indices across the Atlantic.

Shareholders have already given the green light for a listing in the US, which the company said would happen either late this year or in the first quarter of 2024. It is then a question of whether this listing becomes its primary one and what Flutter then does with the London and Dublin listings. London is the primary listing and news of Flutter’s likely switch to New York is regarded there as a reputational blow to the FTSE 100.

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It remains to be seen what happens to the Dublin listing. The company made no reference to this in its half-year results and presentations although it has previously flagged its intention to remain headquartered here and be tax domiciled in the State.

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With CRH having already decided to switch its primary listing to New York and to quit the Dublin market altogether, losing Flutter would be another blow to the Euronext Dublin market, as a report compiled in the Department of Finance for its Minister, Michael McGrath, noted.

It’s all far removed from the heyday of Paddy Power, the listed Irish bookmaker and a predecessor of Flutter, which only merited five mentions in the 63-page interim results statement.