A great decline in profit for the year 2018 seems to have forced Paddy Power Betfair towards a rebranding move. Although revenue for the year before reached £1.87b, which was way higher than in 2017, profit actually went on a 5% decline reaching £451m. The company argued that the drop took place due to the operator's entrance to the US market along with the US FanDuel's buyout.
Rebranding and Moving Forward
The annual meeting of the group was when the news about the rebranding of the company as Flutter Entertainment plc was publicised and when shareholders gave their approval. As representatives stated, the re-branding move depicts the new direction the company is headed. Flutter Entertainment was actually related to Betfair even before these latest developments, as the two were actually standing on opposing sides on online betting products up until 2001, when they merged.
Some more 2018 financial stats on the operator include revenue from online channels going up 5% and reaching £948m, whereas sportsbook revenue saw a 3% increase going all the way up to £678m. Another important metric is exchange betting, which accounts for 38% of the total online betting and which witnessed a 2% decrease. On a more positive note, online gaming revenue went up 13% all the way to £270m, which marked a significant improvement compared to last year.
Why choose Betfair
- Multi-licensed
- More than 35 sports
- Cards & Corners
- 100+ live tennis markets
- Live Streaming
- 150+ horse races daily
- Telephone betting
- High winning limits
When it was established back in 2000, the Betfair betting exchange revolutionized online gambling. It gave bettors the ability to compete against each other based on a poker or stock exchange model. Players can bet with very high limits and also cover their wagers with more fair conditions compared to the Cash Out feature that traditional bookmakers offer. Professional bettors can use the exchange as a tool to follow market trends and sell their bets. The high liquidity almost guarantees that your bets will be traded. Betfair is up-to-date with the latest features, like Bet Builder and Request a Bet, and added a fixed-odds section, too. However, the sportsbook payout is below par. Although the market depth in the exchange is huge, it is not as it once was. The liquidity of less popular sports and leagues has decreased dramatically due to the inability of some countries to regulate the betting exchanges, which forced Betfair to exit strategic markets. Moreover, the commission fees are relatively steep compared to other exchanges, such as Matchbook or Smarkets. There are additional charges if you are a very successful trader. Overall, if you are looking to bet on the exchange, then Betfair is unrivalled to any other company.