Empowering Players
From Melbourne to Manhattan, Flutter’s global teams are showing how technology and real-time insight can work together to empower customers.
In a fast-moving, data-driven industry, the most effective innovations often begin locally. One of Flutter’s most promising responsible-play tools was first developed by its Australian brand, Sportsbet, and is now supporting FanDuel customers across the US and Canada to make more conscious, confident decisions about how they play.
Flutter’s approach to responsible play centers on empowerment. The company believes that helping customers stay in control is not only the right thing to do, but also fundamental to long-term trust and sustainable growth. As regulation evolves and public expectations rise, Flutter is investing in ways to give people more visibility and agency over their play, using technology to prompt reflection, and good decisions.
From idea to impact
The tool, known as Real-Time Intervention (RTI), began life at Sportsbet. It monitors deposit behavior, responding immediately with a personalized prompt when a customer tries to deposit an outlier to their typical behavior.
“It’s about intervening meaningfully, in the moment,” explains Sarah McWhirter, Sportsbet’s Director of Customer Operations. “Traditional tools often act after the fact. We wanted something proactive, personalized and scalable.”
Behind that simple concept sits a sophisticated predictive model built by Sportsbet’s data-science team. “The engine learns each customer’s typical deposit pattern,” says Randika Dias, Head of Data Science at Sportsbet. “When it sees behavior that’s significantly outside that pattern, it triggers a tailored message. The thresholds adjust dynamically; no two customers are the same.”
The design draws on behavioral science principles, or “nudges,” to encourage reflection without confrontation. Messages start softly and escalate the more significant the deposit outlier. Visual cues such as color and tone are calibrated to feel supportive rather than punitive.
Results that matter
The results in Australia have been encouraging. Since launch, Sportsbet has rolled out RTI to all customers, aside from a small control group, and 31% of customers who receive an intervention prompt have chosen to reduce or cancel their planned deposit. Uptake of voluntary deposit limits is significantly higher among this group, while long-term self-exclusion rates are lower. McWhirter notes:
"It shows that when you give people the right personalized tools and moments to reflect, it can be effective”
The Flutter Edge in action
The innovation soon caught the attention of colleagues across Flutter. At a Play Well off-site in Dublin, Sportsbet shared its results with peers from other brands. FanDuel, Flutter’s market-leading U.S. operator, was quick to see potential for its customers.
That collaboration embodies what Flutter calls the Flutter Edge: the ability to scale proven ideas globally, adapting them to local contexts through shared expertise.
“Having access to Sportsbet’s experience saved us months, maybe a year, of development,” says Claudia Baim, FanDuel’s Director of Responsible Gaming. “But we couldn’t just lift and shift it. The U.S. market is different with multiple products, state-by-state regulations, and varied customer behavior.”
Each U.S. state has its own licensing framework, so FanDuel created a modular architecture that can be tailored easily without disrupting the customer experience. Over seven months, more than 50 employees across 10 teams contributed to the rollout. “FanDuel’s engineers and analysts rebuilt the system from the ground up, expanding its inputs beyond deposits to include product type, play history and bonus activity. The result is a more fit-for-purpose model for our operating environment,” Baim added.
From innovation to norm
Adapted for the U.S. market as Real-Time Check-In (RTCI), it marks a step change in responsible-play innovation, moving from static rules to intelligent systems that learn, respond and interact in real-time. It is not about surveillance or restriction, but about balance, awareness and support.
Other Flutter brands, including tombola and PokerStars, are now exploring their own models based on similar principles, focusing on time-on-site, product-specific behaviors and other indicators of play patterns. A cross-brand working group helps ensure consistency and shared learning across markets. "It’s what happens when you bring together diverse teams, large data sets and a culture of openness,” says Dias.
“We weren’t just replicating something; we were improving it collectively.”
Looking ahead
Flutter recognizes that there is no single route or simple solve in RG. Each market, product and player is different. But when we combine our expertise in data science, technology and behavioral insight we can create intuitive tools that support customers to play well. As Baim reflects:
This isn’t just cutting-edge technology. It’s the right thing to do. And we’re proud to be leading that change.”
Discover more about our Play Well strategy and the principles guiding our approach on the Play Well hub here.
