Kevin Harrington named as new CEO of Flutter Entertainment UK and Ireland
Harrington succeeds Ian Brown at the helm of the gambling giant’s UK and Ireland operations.
UK.- Flutter Entertainment has named Kevin Harrington as the new CEO of its UK and Ireland operations. Harrington will replace Ian Brown, who was appointed to the role in July of 2022. Brown has stepped down to pursue other opportunities.
Harrington joined Betfair in 2012 and is currently CEO of PokerStars. He will take over as CEO of Flutter UKI from January 1, 2025 and will be responsible for preserving the market power of the brands Sky Betting & Gaming, Paddy Power, Betfair and Tombola as well as PokerStars.
Meanwhile, the NYSE- and LSE-listed gambling group has reorganised its International unit following recent acquisitions. It’s created a new International Division, streamlining its businesses into two divisions. The restructured International Divison will be led by current International CEO Dan Taylor. It now has five key regions: as well as UK & Ireland (UKI), there’s Asia-Pacific (APAC), Southern Europe & Africa (SEA), Central & Eastern Europe (CEE) and Brazil.
Amy Howe will remain CEO of the US division, which is driven by the FanDuel brand.
Peter Jackson, CEO of Flutter Entertainment, said: “Ian’s time at Flutter has been enormously successful. He has transformed the UK & Ireland business on almost every metric and will be a hard act to follow. Kevin’s promotion is very well-deserved, and the business will be in safe hands as we embark on the next phase of our growth plan.”
Harrington said: “I’m incredibly proud to be given the chance to take over and run a business I first joined more than a decade ago,” he said. “I want to continue the work that has made Flutter the clear market leader across the UK and Ireland and maintain the high standards we have set – with responsible gambling at the core of all our work.”
At the Flutter Investor Day in September, the company predicted that FanDuel will achieve $9.7bn in revenue and adjusted EBITDA of $2.4bn by 2027. Adding Canada, it expects its total addressable market in North America to hit $70bn by 2030. As for developing markets, it highlighted Latin America, India, Turkey and North Africa and Central and Eastern Europe as the main focuses.
Meanwhile, Jackson has told media that Flutter is considering making a bid for the Italian national lottery licence. The company already owns Sisal, which runs the rival SuperEnalotto.
