Betting and gaming operator group Paddy Power Betfair, parent company of the FanDuel Group, has posted a Q1 update featuring strong year-on-year growth, fueled by solid performance in a number of its key markets. The US came in for high praise from CEO Peter Jackson who cited FanDuel’s leading position in New Jersey among other stateside highlights.
Group-wise, total revenue in the quarter (unaudited) was $625m, up 17 per cent against the same period in 2018. The firm pointed to “excellent growth” in Australia, the US and across its European business, with Sportsbet, FanDuel and the recently acquired Adjarabet all credited.
Gaming performed particularly well, jumping 26 per cent year on year, to $174m, although this is barely a quarter of overall group revenue, with betting remaining dominant.
Focusing on America, Jackson noted: “In the US, FanDuel Group is making huge progress, with our unique proposition of brand, product offering, existing fantasy customer base, US market experience and global sports betting expertise driving a Q1 New Jersey sports betting market share of 50%.
“In the US, FanDuel remains well positioned to generate good returns on ongoing sports betting investment and for the rest of the group we remain on track to meet our full year profit expectations despite the adverse sports results in Q1. We remain excited about the growth opportunities that lie ahead for the group.”
Putting that into figures, Jackson added: “US revenue increased 47% with good underlying growth in our non-sportsbook businesses (up 12%), supplemented by $24m of sports betting net revenue. Betfair Casino growth (up 83%) has accelerated due to sportsbook cross-sell and as a result, our New Jersey casino market share increased to 14% in Q1 2019 from a steady 11% over the previous two years.
“Total sports betting stakes in Q1 were $598m on which we generated gross revenue of $33m, more than double the revenue generated in Q4 2018. Across the first quarter, FanDuel was the number one brand in New Jersey with 50% share of market revenues. In addition, we launched our retail sportsbook in Pennsylvania in March, with online expected to follow in the coming months.”