Flutter expected to challenge $870 million ruling by Kentucky court

[The Buzz]

PokerStars owner, Flutter Entertainment, the parent company of Paddy Power and Sky Bet, that was created by the 2016 merger of Betfair and Paddy Power, is expected to appeal a $870 million ruling made by the Kentucky Supreme Court last week.

The case, which was reversed in late 2018, was initially filed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 2010 when it sought to recoup the alleged losses by Kentucky residents who played real-money poker on the PokerStars' website between 2006 and 2011.

A company called Oldford originally hosted the online poker games, generating gross revenues of $18 million from them before the Commonwealth of Kentucky brought proceedings against Oldford.

From The Irish Times:

Flutter said it was “wholly surprised” by the ruling, arguing that it ran contrary to modern US legal precedent.

“This litigation had sought recovery of alleged losses by Kentucky residents during a period between 2006 and 2011 relying on a centuries-old statute,” the group added.

Flutter and its lawyers are reviewing the ruling. The company noted that neither it nor the Stars Group had recognised any liability in relation to the Kentucky case. “Flutter’s balance sheet remains robust,” the statement said.

Flutter recently raised €1.2 billion from shareholders to help fund its proposed buyout of the minority shareholders in its US business, Fanduel, which it has been using to grow its online sports betting operations there.

Shares in Flutter Entertainment ended Friday down 3.81% at 14,900p.

Gavin Kelleher, gaming and leisure analyst with Goodbody stockbrokers, said in a note: "This court ruling is an unwelcome development for Flutter as this was an issue that appeared to be previously resolved with no liability outstanding.

"The company appears confident that it will not have to pay the full outstanding amount of the claim, which based on actual revenues from the state seems overly onerous."

Read more here: https://www.irishtimes.com/business/...ames-1.4439998

[Cash Bonus]

That's a huge amount of money and it's an excessive, greedy amount. It's all about who can take as much money from everyone else here. Let's see how this all plays out. It will be very interesting.

[rmeeuwsen]

For such a small state, Kentucky politicians have made a mess of a lot of things, not the least of which was online gaming.

When they grabbed domain names they forced a lot of people to make changes - none of which made any difference.

The shutdown of poker sites did not ultimately change it’s popularity and online poker. gambling.

All of their actions have been geared toward protecting their own economic interests, specifically gambling and their horse racing industry.

That they are trying to protect the average citizens of Kentucky is a joke and a farce.

If they do receive any money on judgments do you think that they’ll give it back to the people that they sued for? They may throw a few bucks toward social programs, but in the end it would be used for self-serving purposes and pet projects.

I have driven through Kentucky many times and it is a lovely state. For a while I even had some great neighbors that were from Kentucky. But the people of Kentucky are not the same as the politicians.

There are some great leaders in government tpp, but in general, politician’s advance their own interests and those of their benefactors - not the public.