Amy Howe is taking over FanDuel Group’s interim executive operations in light of Matt King’s decision to leave the company and the gambling sector.
Flutter Taps Amy Howe to Smooth Executive Transition
Flutter Entertainment has picked Amy Howe as FanDuel Group’s interim chief executive as the company continues to look for a full-time successor. The move comes after Matt King, the now outgoing FanDuel CEO, decided to withdraw from the iGaming sector in the US, leaving a shortage of executive talent. King will be departing this week.
In the meantime, Howe will be in charge of running the company’s commercial operations across every segment it operates in, including sports gambling, iGaming, daily fantasy sports and racing.
Even though Howe is a fairly new addition to the FanDuel lineup, as she joined in February, she already shows the qualities needed to make the transition between a departing and a new chief executive smooth. One of these priorities would be the addition of some 900 new employees in the company’s newly-announced $15 million offices in Atlanta, Georgia.
Commenting on King’s departure, Flutter Entertainment CEO Peter Jackson lauded the outgoing executive on the state he was leaving the business in. Jackson was confident that the appointment of Howe in the temporary position would translate to a strong net benefit for the US business, with growth uppermost in the company’s mind.
FanDuel is currently competing in every segment against the likes of BetMGM and DraftKings, which are both making a claim on all popular gambling segments. Regardless, FanDuel is still the biggest operator in the country, holding a tangible lead on its main competitors.
Growth Continues to Be Modus Operandi for FanDuel
King’s decision to retire from the company and possibly iGaming has thrown a spanner in the works for FanDuel Group’s planned initial public offering (IPO) in the United States, which may now have been deferred until 2022. It was under King’s guidance that FanDuel became a part of the Flutter Entertainment portfolio in 2018 in one of the biggest deals for the gambling industry, and marking the beginning of a series of mergers and acquisitions in the sector.
Flutter may still change its plans for FanDuel Group with the IPO now delayed, giving the company enough time to think through its next move. A few months ago, the company said that it might consider spinning out the business, but then an IPO was brought up as one of the viable ways to operate the business.
Raising capital can correlate with FanDuel Group’s ambition to retain market dominance in the US market and stay ahead of the curve in the growing competition from BetMGM, DraftKings and now others. FanDuel’s footprint has been growing nevertheless. The company became an official odds sponsor to the Associated Press. King is expected to step down on Friday, July 16.