Flutter Entertainment PLC (LSE:FLTR), the parent company of betting sites such as Paddy Power and Betfair, had its third quarter profits hit by Tyson Fury and a lack of surprises in the Champions League.
The FTSE 100 company posted a trading update on Tuesday where it revealed that, despite a 13% increase in the average monthly players from the previous quarter, the company suffered a GBP60mln hit on its UK and Ireland earnings.
It blamed the blow on ‘unfavourable’ and ‘customer friendly’ sporting results.
READ: Flutter Entertainment takes GBP60mln hit as punters prove victorious in Q3
Flutter told Proactive that these sporting results included punters betting heavily on Fury, the self-styled Gypsy King, to defeat Deontay Widler in the heavyweight clash that took place earlier this month and the odds-on favourite horses winning most races in Australia on 16 October.
NFL handicap bets also chipped away at the bookie’s profits. Usually, it would expect about 50% of the favourite teams to be covered in this spread, however, that number was closer to 70% in for week six and seven of the NFL season, with an example fixture the LA Rams v NY Giants, which ended in a 38-11 fixture for the Rams.
Football results also were to blame according to Flutter.
For the week ending 24 October, 15 out of 16 of the favourites won in the Champions League including Liverpool beating Atletico Madrid 3-2, Chelsea beating Malmo 4-0 and Man City beating Club Brugge 5-1.
There was also 14 out of 15 of the most popular selections winning during the international break on 9 October, which included Sweden beating Kosovo 3-0 and England crushing Andorra, scoring five in a comprehensive away win.
Looking forward, Flutter said that it has a busy November and December, with a ramp up of the NFL and NBA, a busy festive football period and the Spring Carnival Race meeting in Australia which started today.
