FanDuel has laid off several hundred sportsbook employees as parent company Flutter Entertainment (NYSE: FLUT) continues to reshape its US business following a CEO departure, a downward guidance revision, and a major strategic bet on prediction markets.
FanDuel employs around 5,000 people in total. A company spokesperson confirmed the cuts, saying the changes would strengthen its ability to execute on long-term strategy. The exact number of roles affected has not been disclosed publicly.
Internal message confirms the scope
An internal email confirmed the reductions across multiple teams. Karol Corcoran, managing director of sportsbook, wrote to remaining staff:
“Within Sportsbook, we said goodbye to a number of talented teammates across the teams. While today is difficult, I remain very confident in the future of our Sportsbook business, the strength of our strategy, and the opportunities ahead of us.”
Employees in business development, operations, customer service, social media, and engineering were among those affected, according to LinkedIn and social media activity. Staff received a nondescript calendar invite the evening before the cuts, joining a call the following morning with their manager and a human resources representative.
This is not the first reduction at FanDuel in recent months. A separate round of layoffs took place in November 2025. The current sportsbook cuts are also distinct from earlier restructuring at FanDuel Sports Network, a separate entity operated by Main Street Sports Group, which closed regional offices in Atlanta (74 jobs), Cleveland (27 jobs), Southport (40 jobs), and Minneapolis (20 jobs) earlier this year after then-CEO Amy Howe told staff the network did not align with the company’s long-term plans.
Flutter’s leadership overhaul
The sportsbook layoffs follow a significant leadership change at the top of Flutter’s US business. On May 6, Flutter confirmed that Amy Howe had departed after more than five years as FanDuel CEO. Christian Genetski, who joined FanDuel in 2011 and had been serving as president, assumed leadership of the FanDuel business. According to an SEC filing, Howe received a severance package of $4.37m as part of the separation agreement.
Flutter also created a new role of president of Flutter Entertainment for Dan Taylor, previously CEO of Flutter International. Taylor now oversees both the FanDuel business and his existing international responsibilities.
The leadership transition followed a period of share price pressure and a guidance cut. Flutter revised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance midpoint to $18.305bn and adjusted EBITDA midpoint to $2.865bn, down from prior guidance of $18.4bn and $2.97bn respectively. The company cited unfavourable first-quarter sports results and new state launch costs as contributing factors.
The prediction markets pivot
The workforce reductions come as FanDuel makes a substantial commitment to prediction markets. Flutter CEO Peter Jackson told CNBC following the company’s February earnings call that Flutter intends to invest $300m in FanDuel Predicts, acknowledging the outlay would weigh on near-term guidance. FanDuel launched FanDuel Predicts in December 2025 in partnership with CME Group and expanded to all 50 states in January 2026.
FanDuel is not alone in cutting costs. Penn Entertainment and DraftKings have also reduced headcount in recent months. Jordan Bender, equity research analyst at Citizens, told Front Office Sports that the industry has reached a point where growth is beginning to slow materially, citing eight years of expansion since the US Supreme Court opened the door to legal sports betting, alongside the competitive pressure from prediction market platforms.
Regulatory scrutiny of that competition is intensifying. FanDuel holds approximately 41% of the US sports betting market. Under Genetski’s leadership, the company faces the simultaneous tasks of stabilising its workforce, defending that market position, and scaling FanDuel Predicts in a regulatory environment where state attorneys general have already filed lawsuits against prediction market competitors and the legal status of the category remains contested across multiple jurisdictions. The $300m prediction markets investment is a firm bet that the category becomes a permanent fixture of the US landscape — a conclusion regulators and legislators have yet to reach.
