Flutter Entertainment’s share price has surged significantly in recent days following reports that FanDuel has laid off a large number of staff across the business.
The exact number of redundancies has not been officially confirmed, but sources familiar with the matter have suggested the figure could run into the hundreds.
FanDuel confirmed in a statement that it had “implemented organisational changes to ensure the company remains agile, focused and well-positioned to capitalise on what lies ahead.”
A FanDuel spokesperson added: “These changes affect a number of roles across the business. We are deeply grateful to the talented colleagues whose contributions have helped drive FanDuel’s success and are committed to supporting those impacted through this transition.”
Sources indicate the majority of roles affected are middle-management positions, with cuts spread across both sportsbook and casino departments throughout the organisation.
One source described the redundancies to industry outlet NEXT.io as a “money-saving move dressed up as an organisational pivot,” suggesting the reasoning behind the restructure was primarily financial.
Many of those affected reportedly did not see the cuts coming, with news of the layoffs circulating externally among colleagues before any formal internal communication was received.
The layoffs follow the sudden departure of Amy Howe as FanDuel CEO, which was announced in early May 2026 with no specific explanation provided by the company.
Flutter Entertainment chief Peter Jackson said only that it was “the right moment” for new leadership, though sources described Howe’s exit as both “sudden” and coming as “a shock.”
Before Howe’s exit was confirmed, Flutter’s share price had already dropped below $100, representing a near 70% fall from its August 2025 high of $308.
Howe had served as CEO since February 2021, and despite recent difficulties, one source praised her contribution by telling NEXT.io: “She was so pivotal to the growth of FanDuel, she knew everyone. If you walked into the office, she knew everybody’s name and she knew the department that you worked at.”
Chris Grove, partner emeritus at Eilers and Krejcik Gaming, noted that leadership changes typically trigger wider organisational shifts, saying: “Changes in leadership at a company are more often than not followed by ripples across the rest of the org chart, as people decide (or are asked) to move on in light of new leaders with new priorities and new philosophies.”
Since reports of the widespread layoffs emerged around 5 June, Flutter’s stock rose from $100.83 to over $119 on 10 June, with shares trading at around $112.94 at the time of the original report’s publication.
Grove further contextualised the job cuts within a broader industry trend, stating: “FanDuel is hardly alone in shedding staff. Workforce reductions in the status quo are the rule, not the exception, across the gaming industry, especially companies with exposure to the US market.”
Penn Entertainment reported its own round of cuts in May, with its share price rising over 5% in the following month, while DraftKings recovered nearly 17% after announcing employee restructuring measures in late February.
One former FanDuel employee, speaking anonymously, pointed to competition from prediction markets as a key pressure, saying: “Prediction markets had just taken so much away from sports betting, even though casino was doing really well. We had relied so heavily on sportsbook and the market share, and the amount of money that was bringing in.”
Some sources close to the situation allege FanDuel moved too slowly to develop its own prediction markets product, though the company maintains development began well before it publicly embraced the vertical.
One ex-employee admitted: “I think we were a little late to the game. Sometimes we have a tendency to over index on certain products.”
Despite the difficulties in sports betting, FanDuel’s online casino operation has performed strongly, with Flutter reporting US iGaming revenue of $564 million in Q1, a 19% year-on-year increase, while US sports betting revenue of $1.14 billion grew by just 1% over the same period.
