Peter Jackson, CEO of Flutter, will step down in October, with Dan Taylor taking over. Flutter has reduced its revenue projections due to increased investment in the U.S. amid competition from prediction markets. The company cut its revenue guidance by $395 million to $17.9 billion and its EBITDA guidance by $210 million to $2.66 billion, leading to a 9% drop in stock price. Despite a decrease in average monthly players, Flutter's revenue for Q2 was $4.33 billion, boosted by World Cup betting. The firm has seen a 56% drop in shares in 2026 as it adapts to competition from prediction markets, where Flutter aims to generate $50 million in revenue by leveraging its pricing capabilities.

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Flutter chief steps down as gambling group cuts guidance

Peter Jackson to be replaced as CEO in October by head of Flutter’s international business

Storefront of a Paddy Power betting shop with promotional posters in the window, several pedestrians walking by on the street. Flutter, which operates Paddy Power betting stores, has been hit by the growth of prediction markets© Bloomberg

Stephanie Stacey

PublishedAugust 5 2026

UpdatedAugust 5 2026

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Flutter’s long-serving chief executive Peter Jackson is stepping down and will be replaced by the head of its international business, as the gambling group warned increased investment in the US would reduce near-term profits.

The New York-listed group said on Wednesday that Dan Taylor would succeed Jackson, who has been the company’s chief executive since 2018, in October.

The management shake-up came as Flutter said it would spend more on bonuses, promotions and loyalty schemes in the US as its sportsbook FanDuel faces mounting competition from prediction markets such as Polymarket and Kalshi.

In a letter to shareholders, Jackson warned that the investment plans would reduce “near-term profitability”, but said “current market dynamics” meant the company should focus on growing player numbers, which slipped late in 2025.

The company cut the midpoint of its full-year revenue guidance by $395mn to $17.9bn and the midpoint of its guidance for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation by $210mn to $2.66bn.

Flutter’s shares fell by more than 9 per cent in morning trading in New York.

Revenue for the three months to June was better than analysts had expected at $4.33bn, up from $4.19bn a year ago. Revenue climbed even though the group’s average number of monthly players fell 11 per cent to 14.3mn.

The company, which also owns Paddy Power and Betfair, said early trading in the third quarter was ahead of expectations, benefiting from “good engagement” in the knockout stages of the World Cup.

Players wagered more than $3bn during the tournament, which Jackson previously hailed as the “biggest betting opportunity we’ll have ever seen”.

Flutter, once a member of the FTSE 100, switched its primary listing to New York in 2024 after a federal ban on sports betting was lifted by the Supreme Court in 2018, sparking an online gambling boom in the US. It severed its remaining ties with the London stock market in June.

As chief executive, Jackson oversaw Flutter’s growth into the world’s largest listed online betting company, boosted by its 2018 acquisition of FanDuel, which now commands 39 per cent of the US sports betting market.

He also pursued a string of acquisitions that expanded Flutter’s reach around the world, including Brazil-focused Betnacional, Italy’s Sisal and Snai, and Serbia’s MaxBet.

But the New York listing has not been plain sailing. Shares have dropped 56 per cent so far in 2026 amid concerns that the rapid growth of prediction markets is eating into the $17bn US sports gambling market.

“I’m not going to sit here and say investors are not concerned,” said Jackson, even as he insisted that prediction markets were not cannibalising Flutter’s products and even offered an “incremental growth opportunity”.

Still, investor fears have pushed gambling companies such as Flutter and its major US rival DraftKings to search for fresh income streams, including by facilitating trades in rival prediction markets.

On platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, market makers provide liquidity by offering “buy” and “sell” prices for event contracts.

Flutter said it was using its “world-class pricing and risk management capabilities” to profit from the gap between offered prices and expected to deliver $50mn in revenue from market making in 2026.

Jackson noted that progress in growing Flutter’s own prediction market, FanDuel Predicts, had been “slower than planned”, however.

The company started offering prediction wagers through a partnership with derivatives exchange CME Group in December.

But it said it was now moving sports wagers to Crypto.com, which enabled it to offer a prediction market version of the popular multi-leg bets known as accumulators in the UK and parlays in the US.

“We have been constrained in what we can offer through our relationship with CME,” said Jackson, adding that the new partnership would “dramatically improve the user experience”.

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