BOSTON - FanDuel CEO Amy Howe has led her company through a period of strong growth and market leadership in the legal sports betting and iGaming space during the past 4 years.

FanDuel is the No. 1 sports betting operator in 16 of the 21 states in which it operates. 

Fan Duel’s parent company Flutter Entertainment, the world’s largest online betting operator, saw a 26% rise in profits in 2024 and expects that number to rise another 34% this year.  

According to its 4^th quarter earnings report out this week, FanDuel owned 43% of the U.S. sports betting market and 26% of the iGaming market in the 4^th quarter of 2024 in terms of gross gaming revenue. That tops all legal, licensed operators.

On the heels of her parent company’s strong 4^th quarter earnings report, Howe will be a featured panelist at the 19^th Sloan Sports Analytics Conference here on Friday. 

Her panel “The Future of Sports Business” also includes NFL chief media and business officer Brian Rolapp. 

Among the topics her panel will discuss: “Why have team values increased so much despite declining viewership? And how organizations across the ecosystem are strategically adapting to changing fan preferences and highlight the data & technology needed to support changes in-venue, at home, and across the world.”

Earlier this week, Howe sat down via email for a Q&A with bookies.com.

Here is a transcript of the chat, with some questions and answers edited for brevity and clarity.

Bookies: How is the world of analytics compatible with sports betting?

Amy Howe: Sports betting is an industry driven by data and analytics. Our customers require the latest information, and we understand having the best available data creates the best experience. Our risk and trading team uses data recognition and analytics to empower smarter decisions when making models for the multitude of markets we offer. Sports create rich data flows, and it's vital we extract the accompanying insights on teams and players every day. FanDuel simulates thousands of outcomes in nearly real-time, and our teams leverage that data to offer the best and most engaging sports betting product in the market.

Bookies: Is it a stretch to say oddsmakers were the original "stat nerds?"

Amy Howe: I imagine the original oddsmakers were more subject matter experts about their respective sports, rather than being “stat nerds.” However, the prevalence of available data has revolutionized the industry and been a key contributor to our growth. Having a deep understanding of stats and probabilities is how the industry sets more accurate lines and how sports bettors can find markets they want to wager on.

Bookies: Sports betting now has a seat at the table when it comes to major pro and college sports. How does FanDuel view itself in that ecosystem?

Amy Howe: We see our impact in driving engagement and viewership. We know that 88% of bettors believe sports betting makes the game more fun to watch, and we’ve seen that translate to sports from the NFL to women’s college basketball. The Super Bowl broke records on our platform, with bets up 19% from last year, and despite the game being a blowout, it still set viewership records. We believe our platform contributes to that viewership stickiness. On the college side, the 2024 women’s March Madness tournament enjoyed viewership records and set corresponding betting records with each round of the tournament while the WNBA saw record viewership last season with bet totals up 273% in 2024.  And it’s not just mainstream sports, we saw Kentucky Derby viewership up 13% on NBC (16.7m viewers) with wagering activity nearing peak Super Bowl levels last year.

Bookies: Sports betting is facing headwinds on the regulatory and legislative front in several states. What is FanDuel's outlook on the legal sports betting space? And what are 1 or 2 major challenges ahead in the next year?

Amy Howe: We acknowledge that the rate and pace of legalization is slowing somewhat. However, we still see incredible opportunities for growth in the years ahead. We recently launched online sports betting in Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia as well. We look forward to earning a license in Missouri before it launches sports betting later this year once the state’s regulatory framework has been established. We continue to have productive conversations with states across the country on bringing legal and regulated sports betting that creates meaningful tax revenue to their states. Since 2018, FanDuel has paid state governments across the U.S. more than $4B in taxes, funding essential programs such as education, infrastructure, law enforcement, and environmental projects. We believe that growing the regulated industry brings considerable transparency and consumer protection. It also serves to extinguish illegal and more importantly gray markets that operate within the margins offering no tax benefits or consumer protection, particularly with underage patrons.