THE COUNTDOWN IS OVER
The countdown is over. This week, the NFL returns — and for Flutter, it signals the start of one of its biggest sports seasons yet. With a record-breaking $30 billion expected to be wagered legally on the 2025 season, anticipation is surging across its brands and global teams.
Price experts linked to trading hubs in Dublin, Melbourne and New Jersey are working across time zones to deliver markets in real time. Engineers at FanDuel are designing new products that give customers more choice than ever. And in the UK and Ireland, Paddy Power, Betfair and Sky Bet are placing NFL center stage in a way that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. At the heart of these efforts is the Flutter Edge — the combined strength of the company’s product, technology, expertise, and scale. All four are at play ahead of the new season, with innovation leading the charge.
THE BUILD UP
Patrick Aherne, who leads trading and risk for FanDuel from Dublin, has seen the build-up first-hand. “We’ve unlocked something customers have wanted for years,” he says. “The ability to combine season-long outcomes — whether that’s a star player hitting a milestone or a team making a playoff run — into a single bet. No one else in the industry can do that.”
That innovation, known as a futures parlay, was the centerpiece of FanDuel’s “Futures Day” promotion in late August. Styled like a flash sale for sports fans, it drove tens of thousands of new actives in a single day and created a seven-figure uplift compared to the same day last year. “It was designed to whet the appetite ahead of kick-off,” Aherne adds. “And it worked.”
For Spencer Diaz, FanDuel’s Senior Trader of American Football in New Jersey, the breakthrough is as much about engineering as it is about odds. “We can now price the correlations between player and team futures properly,” he explains. “If Joe Burrow throws for 4,000 yards, how does that link to Ja’Marr Chase’s receiving total or the Bengals’ chances of winning the division? That’s the challenge we’ve solved. It gives customers the freedom to build the season exactly how they see it playing out.”
The same spirit of innovation extends to the in-game experience. Traders have introduced “drive parlays”, where fans can combine passing, rushing and receiving yards on a single drive, or even back whether that drive ends in a touchdown. Quick-fire markets allow them to bet on the next snap being a run or a pass. “We wanted to give fans a way to be part of every play,” Diaz says. “You don’t have to wait until the final whistle — you can enjoy the action in real time.”
EXPANDING AUDIENCES
What makes this season different, though, is that these innovations are no longer confined to the US. Through the Flutter Edge, FanDuel’s prices and markets are now being rolled out to Paddy Power, Betfair and, crucially, Sky Bet, which is offering its own parlay product – a Bet Builder – on NFL for the first time having fully migrated to a common Flutter UK and Irish platform. “Suddenly Sky Bet customers have access to hundreds of new markets,” says Nicola O’Sullivan, Trading Manager with Flutter UK and Ireland. “It’s a game-changer for them, and they’re launching with bonus matched Bet Builders to encourage adoption.”
For O’Sullivan, the work has been about tailoring the product to British and Irish audiences. “FanDuel are the experts, but our job is to make sure the content resonates locally,” she explains. “That means focusing on the markets our customers engage with — player propositions, red zone specials, simple boosts that everyone can understand. It’s about making NFL betting feel as accessible as Premier League soccer on a Sunday afternoon.”
The numbers suggest it’s working. At Paddy Power, active NFL customers were up 30% last year and are now four times higher than they were in 2021. Much of that growth is organic, fuelled by Sky’s Sunday coverage – which has been extended and expanded as part of a newly announced deal – and the crossover with UK soccer audiences. “We’re seeing customers tune in for the Premier League’s Super Sunday and then stay on for the NFL,” says O’Sullivan. “Five years ago, it was niche. Now it’s mainstream.”
A NEW PARTNERSHIP
That momentum underpins a new partnership making headlines this week: Paddy Power has been announced as the Official Sportsbook Partner of the NFL in the UK and Ireland. As part of the season-long agreement, Paddy Power will activate around retail and online betting and launch the new free-to-play game Paddy Power NFL Showdown.
The game will see customers predict match results through quick-fire questions before kick-off, with a weekly jackpot on offer as well as a season-long leaderboard for exclusive prizes. The partnership also includes access to NFL digital channels, activations around all UK and Ireland fixtures, and a dedicated fan zone in Dublin during the historic Croke Park clash later this month.
NFL UK & Ireland General Manager Henry Hodgson welcomed the move: “We are delighted to partner with Paddy Power as the NFL’s official sports betting partner in the UK and Ireland. Their innovative approach to fan engagement and their passion for sports entertainment align perfectly with our goals as we continue to grow the game across the region.”
The partnership arrives just weeks before the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Minnesota Vikings at Dublin’s Croke Park — the league’s first ever regular season game on Irish soil. For Aherne, the read across for Flutter is compelling. “The NFL has games in Dublin this year and Melbourne next season, and we have trading teams in both cities. Those offices will be responsible for trading the matches on their doorstep. It shows the scale of what we’ve built.”
AN UNFORGETTABLE NFL SEASON
Behind the headlines, the preparation has been intense. FanDuel’s traders have held ‘training camps’ across their three hubs to share ideas and ensure close coordination. Engineers have built tools that allow futures markets to be repriced in minutes rather than hours after a major trade. And across Flutter’s brands, marketers have been working on new offers, free-to-play games and partnerships to ensure customers have reasons to come back week after week.
All of this reflects the same conclusion: the NFL is no longer just a focus for FanDuel, but a strategic priority sport across Flutter. “The base is growing rapidly, and the NFL is an obvious growth opportunity,” O’Sullivan says. “With the right investment, and with the NFL itself showing more commitment to the UK and Ireland, this partnership makes perfect sense.”
And if fans are wondering who to back for the Super Bowl this season, the consensus is the Buffalo Bills – the most popular team amongst Flutter bettors. But Diaz has a tip of his own. “I like the Titans to surprise people and go over their win total,” he says. “But if you’re looking for a Super Bowl, I’ll go with the Ravens to break through in the AFC and the Packers to do the same in the NFC. That’s my long shot — and I think they get it done.”
As the first kick-off looms, one thing is clear: from New Jersey to Dublin, London to Melbourne, Flutter’s teams are ready to deliver an unforgettable NFL season for fans everywhere.
