Published
PokerFinancialLegal & Regulatory

Paddy Power reaches $300m settlement with Kentucky

The owner of Paddy Power, Flutter Entertainment, has reached a settlement for its legal dispute with the state of Kentucky.

paddypower

The dispute has been going on for over a decade, and started with Kentucky accusing PokerStars of allowing its residents to gamble online between 2007 and 2011. PokerStars had earned around $18m in revenue from Kentucky during the period in question.

However, after having acquired PokerStars through a 2020 merger with the Stars Group, Flutter has agreed to pay a settlement of £146m ($200m), alongside $100m already forfeited as a bond. In response, Kentucky has agreed to stop pursuing the operator.

The settlement is much lower than the $1.3bn Flutter was first ordered to pay by the Kentucky Supreme Court in December 2020. Sources say Flutter “was shocked by the outcome” in December and went on to challenge the ruling in the Supreme Court (but it also worked on a remediated settlement alongside that process).

A spokesperson for Flutter commented: “The group strongly believes this agreement is in the best interests of Flutter shareholders. The group now considers the matter closed.”

Analysts at Davy Group (capital market and wealth management company) said of the settlement: “We view this as towards the lower (more favourable) end of potential outcomes. Importantly, it also removes a key stock headwind of recent months.”

Flutter is a sports betting and gaming operator that delivers worldwide betting and gaming experience; alongside Paddy Power, the company’s portfolio includes brands such as Betfair, FanDuel, Fox Bet and Sportsbet.

Premium+ Connections
Premium

PIN-UP Partners

 
Premium

Imagine Live

 
 
Premium

Lynon

 
Premium

Revsharks

 
Premium

Digitain

 
Premium

Sport Generate

 
Premium

Galaxsys

 
Premium

RISK

 
Premium

1xBet Partners

 
Premium

GammaStack

 
Premium Connections
Consultancy

SCCG Management

Executive Profiles
Zeal Network SE

Stefan Tweraser

VIP Play

Les Ottolenghi

Scientific Games

Keshav Pitani

Social & App

Spribe CEO exclusive: Simplicity is the foundation

Spribe CEO David Natroshvili speaks to Gambling Insider abou...

Redefining iGaming: A history of crash games

Crash games is a growing vertical that has taken gambling by...

A certain something: What makes crash games special?

Crash games. They’re simple, they’re easy to learn and,...

Smarter innovation to shape the future

Spribe CCO Giorgi Tsutskiridze discusses the past, present a...

Facing Facts: The corner of quarterly contemplation

With Q1 reports out across the industry, Gambling Insider co...

Taking Stock: A guide to key stock prices across the industry

Gambling Insider tracks prices from some of the industry’s...

15 years of Gambling Insider: From the Founders

Over the last 15 years, Gambling Insider magazine has interv...

15 years of Gambling Insider: The Awards over time

Global Gaming Awards Event Manager Mariya Savova gives us he...