Flutter Entertainment Delists from London Stock Exchange as Plans for American Expansion Emerge

Betfair and Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment has delisted itself from the London Stock Exchange.

The gambling industry behemoth will now have an exclusive listing on the New York Stock Exchange, which it joined in 2024.

Although there are no indications that Flutter intends to leave the UK behind, it’s a further clue as to where their future lies – particularly as they have just announced the launch of their first prediction market brand.

Leaving London

Flutter will officially leave the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in August of this year.

It has been reported that the rising costs of maintaining a listing on the LSE, in addition to lower share trading activity compared to the market in New York, have led to Flutter calling on the Financial Conduct Authority to officially remove them from the London index.

It was a decision that company insiders described as being ‘in the best interest of the company and its shareholders.’

Nothing is expected to change with regards to their UK operations, with brands like Betfair, Paddy Power, SkyBet and PokerStars continuing to run as normal.

But with tightening regulation and a stringent tax regime, it’s clear that Flutter is looking to North America for its next era of expansion. Their share price has fallen by around 50% in 2026 alone, with a dramatic drop-off ever since reaching all-time highs in February 2025.

There are also increasing concerns that the UK gambling industry is being eroded by the illegal black market, with unlicensed operators and WhatsApp bookies now taking around £16.6 billion a year in bets.

That is likely to increase during the football World Cup, which Flutter has already described as the ‘biggest betting event ever.’

The tournament, which will run until July 19, is the first with the expanded format, which will see 104 games played across the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Flutter have described the 2026 World Cup as the ‘biggest customer acquisition event in history’, predicting that double the number of bets will be placed on the summer showpiece than the 2022 edition held in Qatar.

However, the black market is expected to see plenty of action, with the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime claiming that illegal firms could actually outperform legal operators.

Flutter president, Dan Taylor, commented:

“A risk far greater to consumers than competition between licensed operators is the rapid, largely unchecked growth of offshore illegal betting sites that bypass consumer protections, avoid taxation, offer no meaningful responsible gambling safeguards and, in many cases, have direct links to criminality.”

Fan Favourite

One of the main reasons for Flutter’s bullishness in the North American market is the success of their main brand in the jurisdiction.

They have already moved their operational headquarters to New York in anticipation of FanDuel becoming their flagship company.

That is widely considered to be the market leader in the United States, with a customer share of around 43%. They and main rival DraftKings control around 70% of the sector, making it incredibly difficult for new entrants to penetrate the industry.

However, traditional sports betting has a new opponent in the form of prediction markets, with the main operators like Kalshi and Polymarket combining for revenues of approximately £40 billion in 2025 alone.

To counteract that changing dynamic, Flutter have revealed that they will be rolling out their own prediction market offering in the second half of 2026.

They had originally soft-launched FanDuel Predicts towards the end of 2025, testing the around Super Bowl LX in five different states.

That was deemed a success, so the brand will now be launched in all states that are yet to veto prediction markets.