Flutter's Rooney on Bet Builders' Core Role and the Need for Winnability

Ahead of SBC Summit Lisbon, Flutter Entertainment's Head of Football Strategy and Pricing Malachy Rooney reflected on World Cup trading, the enduring appeal of Bet Builders, and the direction of product innovation.

Rooney observed that player staking patterns during the tournament were heavily skewed toward a handful of star names such as Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland. This concentration, while manageable for traders, introduced sharper variance than typical league fixtures. The expanded 39-day schedule, with more one-sided group-stage matches and a spread of kick-off times, created an "always on" environment that tested operational teams.

Bet Builders remain a central pillar of Flutter's football proposition, in Rooney's view. He argued that they let customers embed their own match narrative into a wager, fostering a sense of uniqueness. Future evolution, he said, depends on optimising ease of use and winnability. "Customers who never actually win don't tend to stick around, no matter how much they're enjoying the product," Rooney noted, cautioning that high average prices (20/1+) can lead to long losing runs.

To address winnability, Flutter has introduced generosity mechanics such as Super Sub and Ghost Leg. Super Sub, originally conceived by Flutter's Sisal colleagues in Rome, solved the common frustration of a player being substituted off. Rooney pointed to widespread industry adoption as proof of the idea's success.

Other World Cup-specific features performed variably. Betfair's Match Odds 90 guarantee resonated with sharper punters, while Sky Bet's ACCA Freeze proved less suited to tournament scheduling with few daily matches. Paddy Power's The Feed drove strong social engagement and conversion, and the "Shot on Target including woodwork" product was designed to boost both winnability and trust. Rooney concluded that successful features typically fix a known customer pain point.