'Pivotal moment' for Flutter Entertainment as gambling industry giant lists on the New York Stock Exchange

Shares in gambling industry giant Flutter Entertainment began trading in New York on Monday with the company saying a US listing is its "natural home".

Flutter, the parent company of Sky Bet, Paddy Power and Betfair among others, has its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange but that is set to change later this year.

The group's American arm FanDuel is vying to be the number one player in the burgeoning US market which has prompted the secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Last year FanDuel was responsible for more than 42 per cent of Flutter's total revenues, according to a recent trading update. 

Flutter's headquarters will remain in Dublin but the company cancelled its secondary listing on Euronext Dublin on Monday. The primary listing will continue to be on the London Stock Exchange for the time being.

However, Flutter has said it believes the NYSE listing will unlock strategic benefits by enhancing Flutter's profile in the US, better enabling the recruitment and retention of US talent and giving them access to much deeper capital markets and new US domestic investors.

Flutter said that since February last year its management had engaged with existing and potential US investors, along with existing shareholders, and that the feedback had been "very supportive" of moving to a primary listing in the US.

Flutter added: "As a result, the board believes the NYSE is now the optimal location for Flutter’s primary listing of its shares, and that the transition should be made as soon as practicable."

The proposal will be put to shareholders at the company's annual meeting on May 1 and, if approved, the transition would be expected to become effective by early in the third quarter of the year. London would remain as Flutter's secondary listing.

Flutter Entertainment chief executive Peter Jackson

Flutter chief executive Peter Jackson said on Monday: "With our NYSE listing effective today, this is a pivotal moment for the group as we make Flutter more accessible to US-based investors and gain access to deeper capital markets. 

"We believe a US primary listing is the natural home for Flutter given FanDuel’s number one position in the US, a market we expect to contribute the largest proportion of profits in the near future."

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