Betfair owner enjoys strong start to year

The owner of Paddy Power and Betfair revealed it has been surprisingly resilient even as coronavirus took a major chunk out of turnover.

Flutter Entertainment said revenues jumped by 16% to £547 million in the first three months of 2021, despite a 46% hit to its sports segment since racing was suspended in the UK and Ireland.

However, things were expected to be worse, chief executive Peter Jackson said.

“Following the widespread cancellation of sporting events, group revenues have been more resilient than we initially expected, helped by the continuation of horse racing in Australia, and the US gaming continues to perform well across the group,” he said.

Up until March 15, revenue in the sports segment of the business grew by 30%, but that dropped to a 13% increase when including the final two weeks of the quarter.