Paddy Power Betfair Looking to Change Its Name to Flutter Entertainment

By Matt Speakman,
Betting Expert at online-gambling.com

Matt Speakman Betting Expert at online-gambling.com

A die-hard fan of the Patriots, Matt Speakman is an expert on everything related to sports betting and DFS sites. Over the years, he has proven a valuable asset for our team at online-gambling.com. You can find Speakman's professional tips and tricks in any of his many articles on the website.

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Last updated: February 29, 2020

If share holders give their approval, Paddy Power Betfair have intentions to change its name to Flutter Entertainment. There was a dip in profits last year but also, they reported rising revenues. Peter Jackson, the chief executive officer said that there are no plans to use the historical name for consumers while the bookmaker said that changing the name would reflect the increased diversity of their operations and brands.

paddy power betfair © slotwise

While pre-tax profit dropped 11% at £219m from €247m, revenue went up 9% at £1.87 billion from £1.75 billion. According to the group, earnings experienced a drop because of the investments made in the US, and what remained unchanged was the dividend.

The new £2 stake limit for controversial fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs),will not have a material impact on its retail strategy that are sports-led, this is according to the firm. The new £2 limit takes effect next month. Blaming the fallout from the new FOBT rules, William Hill reported a loss of £720m for last year.

Paddy Power however, did say that the changed rule highlighted the importance of having sustainable earnings streams, which is something that the group has always been committed to. The group went on further to add that 2019 had matched their expectations thus far. Revenues fell 1%and underlying earnings dropped 19% to £51 million across their 626 estate of betting shops in the UK and Ireland. Compared to just 1% in 2017, online revenues rose 11%.

To Afford Cost of Living Students Are Gambling Their Loans

A new report suggests that, tens of thousands of students are using their loans to gamble in an attempt to top up their funds. Not surprisingly many end up knee deep in debt of up to £5,000 or more. The NUS (National Union of Students), says that students are increasingly resorting to gambling, seeing as the provided student support by the government has failed to keep up with the ever-rising cost of living. It has been revealed that 59% of students, in the past year have gambled in some way and 48% nearly half did so to supplement their income. This is according to a survey conducted by NUS.

The Nus says that more cash-strapped students are relying on gambling to pay for living costs such as rent. The survey finds that one in eight of these students will bet more than they can afford to lose. The rise in technology has made gambling more accessible to young people.

Gambling commission as well as Nus have warned institutions to do more in regards to rising awareness of the dangers of gambling that isn’t safe and to signpost to other support that is available. A student at the University of Birmingham, Jason Heffron said that he used to resort to gambling whenever his money was tight. He went on to add on that at vulnerable times he ended up loosing more money than he could afford to lose. The student in his second year, found himself £1,000 i nto his overdraft, struggled to pay his rent and had lost £500 over a few weeks. He ended up quitting gambling not long after this incident. A Department for Education spokesperson said: “No student should have to face this situation or experience any pressures or barriers to them accessing higher education. Students from the lowest-income households who started their courses this year have access to the largest ever amounts of cash-in-hand support for their living costs.

“We have a world-class higher education system and following the introduction of our progressive student finance system there is a record rate of 18-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds now going to university. “As a government, we are backing the University Mental Health Charter, led by Student Minds, to encourage vulnerable students to seek out support when they need it.