FanDuel Owner Flutter a Stock to Own in 2026, Says Barron’s
Posted on: December 22, 2025, 07:53h.
Last updated on: December 21, 2025, 06:55h.
- Flutter Entertainment is one of 10 stocks the financial journal recommends for 2026.
- It’s the only gaming name on the list.
- Shares of the FanDuel owner are off 14% in 2025.
Another run of bettor-friendly football results and the emergence of prediction markets are among the reasons Flutter Entertainment (NYSE: FLUT) stock struggled this year, but some market observers believe the shares are poised to rebound next year.
The gaming stock is one of 10 Barron’s recommends investors own in 2026, joining familiar names such as Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) on the list. For Flutter bulls, inclusion on the Barron’s list could prove notable because the 10 stocks for 2025 recommended by the publication returned an average of 27.9%, well ahead of a 15.3% gain for the S&P 500.
Central to the Flutter rebound thesis is the point that investors likely overreacted regarding the threat posed by prediction markets. Said another way, the sports menus offered by Kalshi and friends aren’t competitive with the likes of FanDuel.
For sports betting, prediction markets aren’t competitive with FanDuel in live betting, prop bets—such as bets on individual players in football or basketball—and parlays, which are single bets involving multiple outcomes with potentially big payoffs. Parlays are particularly profitable for FanDuel,” reports Barron’s.
Flutter is the only gaming stock on the financial journal’s 2026 list of equities to own.
Flutter Stock Could Get Prediction Markets Boost in 2026
With European prediction markets experience via Betfair, Flutter has the resources to potentially make a splash in that space here in the US and it’s planning to do just that.
In partnership with CME Group (NASDAQ: CME), FanDuel Predicts is expected to imminently debut in this country. Sports betting rivals DraftKings and Fanatics already launched their prediction market platforms.
“FLUT has not launched a competitive prediction product as of this morning, though we had expected FanDuel to launch ahead of DKNG,” said Truist Securities analyst Barry Jonas in a Dec. 19 note. “We expect FanDuel Predicts launch to be imminent. We note Fanatics (Private) launched their prediction offering in 24 states over two weeks ago.”
It’s expected FanDuel Predicts will follow a similar template to the competing offerings from DraftKings and Fanatics in that Flutter won’t offer sports event contracts in states where it holds sports wagering licenses, but it will make those derivatives available in states such as California, Florida, Georgia, and Texas.
Assessing Prediction Market Scenarios for Flutter, Rivals
Jonas sees potential scenarios playing out as it relates to sports event contracts. One is the Supreme Court ruling that sports event contracts are permissible, which could set the stage for DraftKings and FanDuel to be market leaders. However, the best-case scenario is that the court will hear the case sometime next year.
Second, if sports event contracts are ruled illegal, DraftKings and FanDuel simply return to their US sports wagering duopoly. The third scenario involves a waiting game sports betting operators such as Flutter likely want no part of.
“As we await legal clarity, the risk is that in the interim other sports prediction offerings with access to more states (e.g. Kalshi, Robinhood, Coinbase gain more market share,” concludes Jonas. “At the same time, it’s possible that DKNG and FLUT sports prediction products need to exit more states who clarify they view sports prediction markets illegal, especially if more existing OSB regulators take a harder view.”
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