Paddy Power Betfair gets ready for the US

The company’s CEO said that it is ready to achieve success in the United States.

US.- Peter Jackson, chief executive of Paddy Power Betfair, has revealed that the company is well positioned to achieve scale in the United States quickly. This comes after the operator experienced a 20 per cent increase in revenue in the US, boosting the company’s second-quarter financial results.

While second-quarter results were especially boosted by FIFA World Cup, as it helped increase sales to a 13 per cent year-on-year, the three-month period was highlighted by the completion of the deal to acquire US daily fantasy sports (DFS) company FanDuel.

“Fantasy sports will continue to be an important feature in the US market, especially in states where it could take a while for sports betting to be regulated,” commented Jackson, who added that already having 100,000 customers in New Jersey is a good starting point for them.

“Our US strategy is to go after the B2C market under the FanDuel brand. We have secured market access agreements covering 15 states and 36 per cent of the US population, including markets where regulation is expected by the end of 2019. It’s worth remembering that our US business is not a start-up. We have established brands, with FanDuel in sports and TVG in racing, an extensive product suite, operational expertise and we already operate in 45 states, including real-money wagering in 33.”

“Scale is essential for generating sustainable returns in the long term,” he said, adding that the company’s strong balance sheet gives them important firepower and could prove to be a competitive advantage.