Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2024

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

16.	COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Guarantees

The Group has uncommitted working capital overdraft facilities as of March 31, 2024 of $21 million (December 31, 2023: $21 million) with Allied Irish Banks p.l.c. These facilities are secured by a Letter of Guarantee from Flutter Entertainment plc.

The Group has bank guarantees: (i) in favor of certain gaming regulatory authorities to guarantee the payment of player funds, player prizes, and certain taxes and fees due by a number of Group companies; and (ii) in respect of certain third-party rental and other property commitments, merchant facilities and third-party letter of credit facilities. The maximum amount of the guarantees as of March 31, 2024 was $313 million (December 31, 2023: $322 million). No claims had been made against the guarantees as of March 31, 2024 (December 31, 2023: $0). The guarantees are secured by counter indemnities from Flutter Entertainment plc and certain of its subsidiary companies. The value of cash deposits over which the guaranteeing banks hold security was $53 million as of March 31, 2024 (December 31, 2023: $29 million).

Other purchase obligations

The Group is a party to several

non-cancelable

contracts with vendors where the Group is obligated to make future minimum payments under the terms of these contracts as follows:


($ in millions)	Three months ended March 31, 2024

From April 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024	$	831
2025		720
2026		458
2027		316
2028		191
Thereafter		480

		$2,996

Legal Contingencies

The Group is involved, from time to time, in various litigation, administrative and other legal proceedings, including regulatory actions, incidental or related to its business. The Group establishes an accrued liability for legal claims and indemnification claims when the Group determines that a loss is both probable and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. The est

ima

tes are based on all known facts at the time and our assessment of the ultimate outcome. As additional information becomes available, the Group reassesses the potential liability related to our pending claims and litigations, which may also revise our estimates. The amount of any loss ultimately incurred in relation to these matters may be higher or lower than the amounts accrued. Due to the unpredictable nature of litigation, there can be no assurance that our accruals will be sufficient to cover the extent of our potential exposure to losses. Any fees, expenses, fines, penalties, judgments, or settlements which might be incurred by us in connection with the various proceedings could affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Austrian and German player claims

As previously reported, the Group has seen a number of player claims in Austria and Germany for reimbursement of historic gaming losses. The basis of these claims is rooted in the Group having provided remote services in Austria and Germany (outside of Schleswig-Holstein) from Maltese entities on the basis of multi-jurisdictional Maltese licenses, which the Group continues to believe is compliant in accordance with EU law. However, the Austrian Courts and certain German Courts consider the Group’s services

non-compliant

with their respective local laws. The Group strongly disputes the basis of these claims and judgements made by Austrian and German courts in awarding the player’s claims.

As of March 31, 2024, the Group expects to settle claims amounting to €13 million ($15 million) and has recognized an accrued liability within loss contingencies forming part of other current liabilities. In addition, there are further claims made against the Group amounting to €40 million ($44 million

)

as of March 31, 2024,

the settlement of which is predicated on the merits of the case and whether the enforcement proceedings are successful in laying claim over the Group’s Maltese assets for settlement of these claims. The Group, based on advice from its legal counsel, believes such cross-border enforcement of judgements is in contravention to Maltese public policy and Regulation (EU) 1215/2012 and has not accrued any liability for these claims. The Group has filed countersuits before the Maltese Civil Court for setting aside these claims. The defendants have also filed garnishee orders with the Maltese Civil Court to attach the Group’s Maltese assets, some of which have already been declined by the Maltese Civil Court. Should the Maltese Courts decide in favor of the Group, there would be grounds for dismissal of all pending player claims instituted against the Group.

While the Group believes that it has strong arguments, at this time, the Group is unable to reasonably estimate the likelihood of the outcome due to the complexities and uncertainty around the judicial process.

Others

During the three months ended March 31, 2024, no additional information has become available that would cause the Group to reassess the potential liability related to the Group’s pending claims and litigations in relation to the Group’s previously reported tax dispute in PokerStars business in Italy, cybersecurity incident and G

oods and

Services Tax appli

cab

le to operations in India as discussed in our 2023 Annual

Report.