FanDuel’s Amy Howe On Industry Trends: Gambling.com Q&A

Since being named FanDuel’s chief executive officer in February 2021, Amy Howe has led the sports betting and gaming company to new heights.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, for instance, FanDuel increased its share of the legal U.S. sports betting market from 42% to 50%, according to published accounts.

FanDuel is headquartered in New York but also has offices in Los Angeles and Atlanta. Its parent company is Dublin, Ireland-based Flutter Entertainment. Among other closely watched moves, the company recently opened its first FanDuel Sportsbook in Nevada at the Fremont hotel-casino in downtown Las Vegas. 

Howe holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and has served in several executive roles, including as Ticketmaster’s president and chief operating officer. She also has been a leader in expanding business opportunities for women. CNBC’s Contessa Brewer recently noted that Howe is one of the few women among sports and gambling executives.

“It’s clear Howe stands as a role model to other women in sports and gambling,” Brewer said.

With sports betting sites legal and live in 33 states and Washington, D.C., and with iGaming on the horizon, Gambling.com asked Howe where the industry is headed in the near future.

‘We’re The Clear No. 1 Sportsbook Operator’

Gambling.com: What are the major industry trends in 2023 and beyond?

Amy Howe: We expect the sports betting industry to stay in growth mode as evidenced by the strong performance of newly launched states. Maryland at the end of 2022 and Ohio in Q1 of this year each broke previous performance and penetration records. While we don’t have a full picture of Massachusetts just yet we’re also seeing encouraging customer acquisition strength in just the first few weeks in the Bay State.    

What does the future hold for iGaming nationwide?

It’s difficult to predict how iGaming will grow beyond the handful of states currently legalized. However, we see increasing comfort with sports betting among policymakers who recognize that mobile betting can be done safely if properly regulated. We believe the same holds true for iGaming. We expect states will seek new opportunities to generate revenue in the next few years, and iGaming is primed for that policy conversation. The concept has been proven in the five states where we currently offer the product, and we share the objective to transition consumers to a safe and regulated environment.

What states could be next in line to legalize sports betting?

Similar to iGaming, it’s also hard to prognosticate what states might be next on the sports betting front. We were excited to launch Ohio and Massachusetts in Q1 of this year, and we continue to see discussions taking place in legislatures in Kentucky, North Carolina, and Minnesota that we’re monitoring closely.

What industry-wide strategies exist to encourage responsible gambling?

At FanDuel, protecting our customers, and building a safe and viable business for the long-term is one of our most important priorities. We continue to remain vigilant on a range of responsible gaming programs, which include encouraging RG tool adoption, where we are leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities to attempt to spot problem play earlier. We’re funding research, mandating internal training, and working in close collaboration with our league, team and media partners to grow this industry responsibly. We also continue to invest heavily in advocacy including our work with Craig Carton, focused on younger customer cohorts and college campuses. I’m equally encouraged that the industry and our competitors continue to also place an emphasis on expanded responsible gambling efforts. RG is not a competitive moment but a collaborative opportunity to build a sustainable long-term business. 

Can you address FanDuel’s current growth and also growth plans for the near future? 

Our parent company Flutter is coming off a strong 2022 year end performance with total group revenue up 22%, while FanDuel revenue was up 67%. This included FanDuel delivering ahead of expectations as we’re seeing compounding scale advantages that are driving our overall performance. We’re the clear number one sportsbook operator with a 50% market share, and we’re coming off our best state launches to date here in 2023.  As we move into the balance of the year, our focus remains on being full-year EBITDA profitable for 2023.