Flutter UK&I announces female-focused betting startup competition

The winning company will partner with Sky Betting and Gaming, Paddy Power and Betfair.

The competition was launched through Flutter’s Alpha Hub programme, which allows Flutter’s brands to partner with startups. Applications are now open and will close on 15 March 2024.

The winning startup will need to submit product ideas that appeal to how women tend to participate in gambling. In outlining its tender, Flutter outlined social and community gaming as an example. The competition also includes a wildcard option, wherein startups can submit ideas that don’t completely align with the brief.

The chosen startup will be supported in launching their product across the UK and Ireland. It will also have the opportunity to form a commercial relationship with Flutter.

“We see this as a really exciting gap in the market, and we’re looking forward to finding and partnering with innovative startups through the Alpha Hub programme to seize this opportunity,” said Steve Birch, chief commercial officer at Sky Betting and Gaming.

Competition announcement comes after NYSE launch

The startup competition announcement comes days after Flutter launched on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The launch took place on 29 January and saw Flutter begin trading under the ticker symbol FLUT.

This was right on target as, in December, Flutter said it would work to list its shares on the NYSE by 29 January 2024. Flutter exited Euronext Dublin ahead of the listing.

Ed Birkin, senior analyst at H2 Gambling Capital told iGB this was a rational move for Flutter, which will already have interested investors.

“While Flutter isn’t a US online pureplay investment, it has meaningful exposure to the market and that is likely to be of genuine interest to investors,” Birkin observed.