Flutter Names Dan Taylor as CEO as PokerStars Activity Declines
Jackson will step down on Oct. 1 as Taylor takes over, after a quarter that brought a $296 million loss and fresh PokerStars restructuring costs.
Flutter said Peter Jackson will step down as chief executive on Sept. 30 and Dan Taylor will take over on Oct. 1. Taylor will also join the board that day, while Jackson stays on as an adviser through the end of the year.
Taylor is currently chief executive of Flutter’s International division, which generated more than $9 billion of annual revenue and over $2.2 billion of adjusted EBITDA in 2025. The board said he played a central role in FanDuel’s sportsbook improvement plan, which it said is showing encouraging early signs of momentum. Board chair John Bryant also said Flutter had transformed from Paddy Power Betfair into what he called the world’s leading online sports betting and iGaming operator.
The move comes after a rough second quarter. In the quarter ended June 30, Flutter reported revenue of $4.326 billion and a net loss of $296 million, compared with a $37 million profit a year earlier. Sales fell 6%, sportsbook revenue dropped 15%, and average monthly players declined 11%.
U.S. revenue fell 6%, U.S. sports betting revenue slid 15%, and online gaming rose 6%. Internationally, sportsbook revenue rose 14% and online gaming revenue increased 7%, with gains of 7% in the UK, 16% in Central and Eastern Europe, 36% in Southeast Asia and 64% in Brazil, while Asia-Pacific revenue fell 1%.
Flutter’s shares fell 14% in August and another 5.2% after the report was announced. The company also said the UK online gaming tax rate jumped from 21% to 40% on April 1.
Card Player reported that Flutter’s online gaming arm said PokerStars is seeing an overall decline in global activity. Management has been trying to counter that by moving poker into larger platforms, including adding PokerStars to FanDuel in North America, and PokerStars entered Flutter’s portfolio in 2019 in a $6 billion deal.
In the quarter, the PokerStars transformation added $120 million in restructuring and integration costs. Flutter said the work is expected to deliver $300 million in annualized cost savings by the end of the year, while more than 100 PokerStars jobs were cut across hubs in Canada, Europe, the UK and Ireland. Flutter said it will make proactive sportsbook investment in the second half to extend FanDuel’s leading position.
