In 1984, the FTSE Group decided to create a share index of the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The size of the biggest companies was determined by the market capitalisation of all the shares issued for each firm. The FTSE Group, which is now a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group, still oversees the index today.
The value of the FTSE 100 index fluctuates daily, as the market caps of all the firms listed within it rise and fall based on their respective share prices.
Today, the FTSE 100 index is a melting pot of businesses, spanning a host of industries. This includes some of the biggest operators involved in the world of iGaming. Flutter Entertainment is the biggest of all iGaming companies listed in the FTSE 100. It owns major brands Betfair and Paddy Power, following their merger in September 2015 and several others. The former still boasts some of the most popular casino promotions, with no-deposit offers open to players in many regions. These bonuses have long doubled up as an opportunity for customers to boost their bankrolls and get the most out of their iGaming sessions while acting as a ‘thank you’ from the brand for their custom.
Flutter Entertainment also owns many other leading iGaming brands, namely Sky Bet, FanDuel, and PokerStars. Their acquisition of The Stars Group was one of the biggest ever commercial deals in the global iGaming landscape. To put Flutter’s current size into context with the rest of the FTSE 100 index, this iGaming behemoth has a market cap of £21.01 billion, making it the 27th largest firm. The most valuable UK firm is pharmaceutical and biotech giant AstraZeneca, with a market cap of £171.22 billion.
In April 2022, the total market capitalisation of the 100 companies listed within the FTSE 100 index stood at £1.996 trillion.
Introducing Entain: The second iGaming firm in the FTSE 100
Entain, previously known as GVC Holdings, was established in 2004 and is a global iGaming company. It proudly owns a string of iGaming brands, including Ladbrokes, Coral, and Sportingbet. In the summer of 2018, it also confirmed a joint partnership with MGM Resorts International, with a view to launching a fully regulated online sportsbook in the US. The BetMGM deal would see Entain supply the underlying technology, with MGM’s powerful branding acting as the customer-facing touchpoint.
Entain has continued to acquire and bring more iGaming brands into its stable in recent years, with eSports betting specialists Unikrn bought in August 2021 and Canada-based Sports Interaction acquired in February 2022. It currently has iGaming licences to serve over 18 regulated markets worldwide and its market cap positions Entain as the 50th largest UK-listed company (£8.229 billion).
There’s also a fast-growing iGaming company that’s currently listed within the FTSE 250 index. Playtech currently has a market cap of £1.697 billion, making it the 82nd most valuable company of all 250 constituents within this index. Playtech actually dates back further than Entain, having been established in Estonia in 1999. Today, it’s headquartered in the Isle of Man and specialises in the B2B supply of iGaming and sportsbook technology.
This trio of listed companies demonstrates that iGaming is competing well alongside other conventional industries and there remains plenty of room for all three to innovate further given the pace of change in the tech space.