Building up with the gradual closures of major sports leagues around the world, online betting platforms were always expected to take a hit on the London Stock Exchange. One of the biggest in the UK, Flutter Entertainment PLC, was certainly among those to be impacted by the lockdown on sports.

The company, which is comprised of the online gambling platforms Paddy Power, Betfair, and brands incorporated under The Stars Group, is one of many which sees much of its revenue come via sports betting. While share prices dropped somewhat, they have recovered rather well since the drop. A major reason behind this is the omnichannel nature of the company’s leading brand, Paddy Power.

An unavoidable tumble in share prices

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Flutter Entertainment, as rebranded in 2019 from Paddy Power Betfair, saw its share price take a significant drop from 11 March to 12 March, falling from 7,924.00 GBX to 6,700.00 GBX. The drop coincided with the continued closures of elite-level football leagues across Europe and the impetus on the Premier League and English Football League to follow suit. On 13 March, the Premier League, FA, EFL, and WSL postponed professional football.

The value continued to tumble, hitting a year-low, by quite some margin, of 5,512.00 GBX on 18 March. This was the point at which the UK as a whole was going into lockdown. As Flutter totes several shops across the UK, further drops were inevitable, with the prime minister, Boris Johnson, further emphasising a stay-at-home order of seven days to two weeks.

As those orders were extended a great deal, one would assume that the company deriving much of its profits from betting would see its share price continue to decrease. However, in the weeks since the 18 March low, Flutter has risen a tremendous amount.

Omnichannel presence paying dividends

Source: Pixabay

One of the key aspects which have allowed Paddy Power to become such an influential figure in British iGaming is that they provide a wide-ranging gambling platform. While sports betting is, of course, big business, the Paddy Power platform also prominently displays its expansive games section. Known for their advertising campaigns, the Flutter company now appears to be benefitting from bringing in the likes of Jose Mourinho and Rhodri Giggs as comedic advert stars over the past couple years.

Just by looking at the page’s betting games online, it’s clear to see that people are making the most of the offering. The progressive jackpots – Monster Jackpot, Daily Jackpot, Jackpot King, and Cash Boost Jackpot – were all increasing at a rapid pace, at the time of writing, meaning that many players must be playing the associated titles. Then, of course, there are the unseen levels of gaming across the other slots, instant wins, roulette, and blackjack games.

On 16 March, Flutter Entertainment announced that the closures of sports around the world could cost the company significantly; yet despite this, share prices have been getting stronger. On 24 April, the Flutter Entertainment PLC price climbed to 9,044.00 BX, ticking up slightly on its more normalised pricing of 9,018.00 GBX from 17 April.

Without any sport on the cards, it’s inevitable that most of the UK’s premier iGaming companies will feel the loss. However, at least in regards to share price, Paddy Power’s long-lasting embrace of its games offering appears to have allowed them to remain relevant with punters, which may have influenced their share price to recover quickly.

By Taylor Wilman