Flutter, the parent company of FanDuel, has made it clear that California remains a prized target even though sports betting has yet to become legal in the Golden State.
During its annual Investor Day recently, Flutter provided some insight into FanDuel’s strategy to maintain its position as the top online sportsbook in the US as it looks to market opportunities in what is calls “the big 3” of California, Texas and Florida.
California is the most populous state in the nation, with 39 million residents. Legalizing sports betting in California would immediately make it the country’s largest sports betting market — bigger than Nevada, New Jersey and New York. Hence, FanDuel’s long-game preparation.
While legalization may be a long way off, there was news this week that California tribes may get the issue back on the ballot as soon as 2026.
FanDuel has laser focus on California
During its Investor Day live-streamed event, Flutter pointed out four areas of emphasis in its strategy for the big three:
- Lobbying and engagement
- Proactive public affairs
- Coalition, building, sponsorships, and industry memberships
- Dedicated resources within FanDuel
The company aims to keep its edge by acquiring more customers efficiently, retaining customers longer and growing customer value.
FanDuel claims it has 46% of the US sportsbetting market, an increase of 7% since 2021.
Re-energized engagement with California’s tribes after “spectacular fail”
Even though 2026 is more than a year away, FanDuel is already laying the groundwork to be on the ground running when it happens.
Its previous efforts were a lobbying and engagement flop. The company, along with DraftKings and other out-of-state operators, made the error of trying to enter California without the support of the state’s powerful casino-owning Native American tribes who have pioneered legal gambling in the state over the past 25 years.
There are over 100 tribes in the state, and some 70 California tribal gaming locations.
FanDuel quickly saw the error in its ways.
With contrition, FanDuel CEO Amy Howe publicly admitted that its efforts in 2022 to pass a measure to legalize online sports betting were “a spectacular fail.”
Now, FanDuel is trying to build bridges with the tribes. Howe reiterated that during the company’s Investor Day event.
“California… as many of you know, we were unsuccessful in the November [20]22 initiative,” Howe said. “We have completely regrouped coming out of that.”
Name recognition in place with sponsorships and partnerships
Howe was vague on a timeline for legalization but expressed optimism about its inevitability, perhaps in 2026 or 2028.
“We feel optimistic that at some point it will happen, but we are doing that with and through the tribes,” she said. “It is obviously a very different approach than we took in ’22… So we feel that at some point it will happen, but we’re not gonna try to put a date on it, whether it’s ’26 or ’28.”
Regarding California and Texas, Howe said, “we feel good about the momentum and the progress.”
The company already has name recognition in the state as it is an official partner of all of the major sports leagues and a title partner of Breeders’ Cup horse races at Santa Anita Park and Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. Howe also touched on this in her comments.
“We have relationships with the big leagues. So… even if you’re in a state where sports betting hasn’t opened up, we’re advertising there, and we;re starting to actually get the awareness in advance.”
Resources that outpace competitors
As a market leader with a $41 billion market capitalization, Flutter has more resources than its competitors by a vast margin.
Flutter CFO Rob Coldrake told investors:
“Our US business is a market leader with innovative technology, and we are harnessing the benefits of our global scale to generate substantial profit and free cash flow at an even earlier stage than most.”
Time will tell if sports betting gets on the ballot in 2026, but in the meantime, FanDuel is not shy about licking its chops at the revenue and market share possibilities.
In the words of Coldrake, “we expect sports betting to be available to 80% of the population by 2030.”
