A long-running relationship
Playtech Plc has signed a five-year contract extension with Flutter Entertainment. The gaming technology company will remain as the chief supplier of iGaming services to Ireland-based Flutter Entertainment. Playtech is a key technology strategic partner of Flutter as the gambling group continues to seek growth across its key markets in Europe.
Some of Flutter’s brands to which Playtech provides its online gambling software and games include Betfair, Sky Casino, and Paddy Power. The contract covers the provision of live casino games, including the early 2021 launch of an exclusive Sky Vegas live casino offering.
one of the world’s leading suppliers of high-quality gaming product”
Flutter Entertainment UK & Ireland CEO Conor Grant spoke about the successful partnership his company has developed over the years with Playtech. In Thursday’s announcement, he talked about the excitement of being able to “continue offering our customers access to software from one of the world’s leading suppliers of high-quality gaming product.”
Playtech chief operating officer Shimon Akad echoed Grant’s remarks about the strong and long-running relationship between the two companies. Akad stated: “….this new long-term agreement to supply our innovative software and services across four key product verticals is significant.”
A tough period for Playtech
In recent times, Playtech has also signed agreements similar to this Flutter extension with the likes of Norsk Tipping and Kindred Group.
While many companies in the online gambling space enjoyed success during the COVID-19 pandemic, Playtech reported a total revenue drop of 25% for 2020. It saw its key B2B and B2C revenue fall to €1.079bn ($1.29bn) for the period, down from €1.44bn ($1.72bn) in 2019. The company went from a reported post-tax profit of €55.9m ($66.8m) in 2019 to a loss of €73m ($87.2m) last year.
It has started to dip its toes in the US market recently, signing the first of a few deals last August. It first went live in the US through its partnership with Bet365 in New Jersey.
Flutter flying high
In contrast to Playtech, Flutter has enjoyed plenty of success despite the pandemic. It managed to complete its merger with the Stars Group, making the combined entity the biggest online gambling company in the world. Total revenue for the group was ￡4.398bn ($6.1bn) in 2020 versus ￡2.14bn ($2.97bn) the previous year. However, the merger did significantly eat into the group’s 2020 profits.
While retail operations are still struggling because of the pandemic, Flutter has been seeing plenty of success in the US market thanks to its ownership of FanDuel. US revenue jumped 81% to ￡695m ($964.17m) for the year, with betting companies like FanDuel and FOX Bet launching in numerous states. Rumors are now that Flutter might spin off FanDuel and make it a publicly listed company.