FanDuel Eyes Prediction Markets with Betfair’s Playbook. “We’ve clearly got the in-house expertise”
FanDuel signals that it’s ready to dip its toes into prediction markets. As we found out during the Q1 earnings call, Flutter is “actively scouting opportunities, leveraging its experience from running Betfair”.
Testing the Prediction Market Waters
“We’re closely monitoring the developments around futures markets and the potential direct and indirect opportunities for FanDuel to explore,” said CEO Peter Jackson during Flutter’s Q1 2025 earnings call.
With a team from Betfair now embedded in FanDuel, the company’s tapping deep expertise to weigh its options. “We do operate the world’s largest sports betting exchange. So we know this space well,” Jackson added.
Prediction markets differ from FanDuel’s core sports betting offerings, which thrive on parlays and same-game parlays popular with US bettors. Jackson’s cautious, noting these markets might not spark big demand in states with legal sports betting.
“I’m not that confident that this will have a significant impact,” he said, citing the limited appeal compared to daily fantasy sports, a precursor to parlays. But new, unregulated markets, like political betting or gamified sectors, could be a “prime the pump” chance to stir interest.
“A Bunch of Different Ways” to Enter
FanDuel’s interest is no-brainer and comes as prediction markets gain hype, with platforms like Kalshi and Crypto.com quickly expanding their offerings.
Flutter sees potential in states yet to legalize betting, where prediction markets could nudge regulatory progress. “If there is any benefit that we get from prediction markets encouraging faster rollout, we’ll take it,” Jackson said.
FanDuel’s not rushing in, though it’s “very thoughtful” about how exchanges stack up against its parlay-driven product, which resonates with US fans.
Flutter’s edge could lie in Betfair’s playbook. “We have brought some of our team who have experience in building these products and services from the Betfair exchange business and put them into FanDuel to help us evaluate the opportunity,” Jackson noted.
CFO Rob Coldrake hinted at flexibility, saying, “There’s a number of routes to market we think we could access quite quickly if we needed to.” FanDuel’s pricing strategy, offering “the best prices in the market,” hasn’t shifted due to prediction markets, and parlays remain king for most bettors.
FanDuel’s got “a bunch of different ways” to enter, per Jackson, and could move fast if the vibe’s right. “We’re interested in the potential opportunity. There’s puts and takes, we’re working our way through it,” he said.
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