If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. That appears to be the approach executives at FanDuel’s corporate parent, Flutter, are taking towards the emerging threat of predictions markets. In a recent call with investors, Flutter CEO Peter Jackson said the company is exploring the possibility of competing with predictions market operators by entering the predictions market itself.
It’s a strange turn of events that suggests regulated operators may eventually wave a white flag in the battle with unlicensed, but politically connected, competitors such as Kalshi.
During the investor call, Jackson explained that predictions markets could offer some real opportunities for FanDuel. He also pointed out that Flutter is already an experienced predictions market operator with its European predictions market operator, Betfair Exchange.
“We know this space well. The Betfair Exchange has for many years given us very good insights on how this space can play out,” he said in comments reported on by SBC Americas.
Jackson hedged his bets a bit when discussing the possibility of entering predictions markets in states that already offer regulated sports betting. His take is that these types of operations are maybe better suited for the few remaining states that offer no forms of regulated sports betting, such as California. “In states that haven’t regulated, there’s a sort of prime-the-pump type of opportunity. We’re interested in the potential opportunity … If there is any benefit we get from prediction markets encouraging faster rollout, we’ll take it, right? We would love to make our product available more broadly to more customers,” he added.
The downside of predictions markets, Jackson pointed out, is that they don’t offer the same range of products as sportsbooks, especially parlays.
Either way, it’s pretty clear that events predictions markets are making a mark on the US-facing gaming industry.