Flutter Entertainment Regulatory News (FLTR)

27 April 2023

Flutter Entertainment plc ("Flutter" or "Group")

Flutter welcomes the publication of the UK Government Gambling Act Review

The UK Government has today published its White Paper on the review of the 2005 Gambling Act ('GAR'). With our ambition to lead positive change in the global betting and gaming industry, we welcome the review which puts customer protection at its heart. We have engaged extensively on the GAR, actively encouraging an evidence-led approach, and look forward to contributing to the subsequent consultations announced today.

Flutter believes the GAR represents an important and necessary change for the industry, as it looks to ensure all operators raise standards and make responsible play a priority, as Flutter has done with its Play Well strategy. During the review process over the last three years, Flutter has proactively introduced and implemented a broad range of player protections, and alongside other major operators has implemented a voluntary industry levy for research, education and treatment.

GAR White Paper Overview:

The key measures in the White Paper are:

· Online slot limits:

o  A consultation will be held to determine a staking limit for online slot gaming products of between £2 and £15. Since 2021, Flutter has enforced a maximum slot limit of £10 per spin

· Mandatory levy for Research, Education and Treatment ('RET')

o  In tandem with our partners in the BGC, Flutter has already committed to contributing 1% of annual revenue to RET, and in 2023 has already made voluntary charitable contributions of over £18m as part of its 1% (£20m) annual commitment. The Group welcomes a levy now being made mandatory for all licensed operators

· Enhanced Spending Checks ('ESC') and Financial Vulnerability Checks ('FVC')

o  A consultation will take place on implementing industry standard frictionless ESCs, applying where players lose more than £1,000 in a single day or over £2,000 in 90 days. These thresholds are halved for players under the age of 25. The consultation will also include the implementation of FVCs where players lose more than £125 in a month or £500 in a year. Flutter already has a well-developed and extensive player protection framework that identifies various at-risk player behaviours through a range of markers of risk, and expects the customer information obtained through ESC's and FVC's to be assessed within this existing framework

In line with Flutter's strategy to take a leadership role in responsible betting and gaming, the Group's pre-emptive changes have already removed £150m in annual revenue from our UK business. The Group's current best view is that the gross incremental revenue impact from the proposed measures announced today could be between £50m - £100m. This would result in the total cumulative revenue impact of changes already introduced and those announced today of between £200m-£250m of annual UK revenue. We estimate that there will be no incremental impact in 2023, with changes occurring from some point in 2024. 

Peter Jackson, Chief Executive, commented:

"We welcome the publication of the White Paper, which we see as a significant positive moment for the UK gambling sector, raising standards and bringing the regulatory framework into the digital age. We believe proactive change will lead to a better future for our industry and have introduced industry-leading safer gambling controls via our 'Play Well' strategy over the last few years, including setting mandatory deposit limits for customers under 25, reducing online slots staking limits and making material investments in our safer gambling operational capabilities.

We will constructively engage with the Government and Gambling Commission as part of the subsequent industry consultation process, with a focus on providing support to the minority at-risk of gambling harm without interfering disproportionately with the enjoyment of the vast majority. We encourage the regulator to look at what more it can do to tackle the problem of the growing number of unlicensed and unregulated gambling companies targeting at-risk gamblers across the country. It is important to get new regulation right from the start, as it will ultimately provide the certainty our industry needs to continue investing in jobs and in further growing the UK's lead in digital innovation in our rapidly evolving market."

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