Second Strike

About Second Strike

Each day of Africa Safer Gambling Week has centred on a different issue around player protection, including responsible gambling and the prevention of underage gambling.

Kesitilwe acknowledges that while Africa is one continent, it is also hugely diverse in terms of markets with different realities across regulatory structures and social contexts.

Therefore, the aim is not to create a single regulatory model, but rather continued collaboration that allows for locally relevant messaging and measures.

About Second Strike

It is important to stress that the Commission has not published detailed findings or established that breaches occurred. Customers can still access their accounts and withdraw funds. Following the closures the sites still provided messaging about the suspended licences.

Even so, suspension is an unusually forceful intervention.

“In my experience, where compliance concerns can be satisfactorily addressed without suspending an operator’s licence, the Commission may allow the operator to implement remedial measures or an action plan while continuing to trade,” says Richard Williams, partner at Keystone Law, speaking before the news of the collapse of the businesses.

How to play Second Strike

The move initially appeared to work. Flutter had a market capitalisation of about $36 billion when it began trading in New York in January 2024, rising to roughly $50 billion by June the following year. Flutter’s value later fell sharply as investors lowered their earnings expectations.

In the second quarter of 2026, Flutter’s US revenue fell 6% to $1.683 billion, while sportsbook revenue fell 15%. US adjusted EBITDA fell sharply, and Flutter subsequently reduced its guidance. Despite this, FanDuel retained the number-one US sportsbook position, with Flutter reporting a 39% share of US sportsbook gross gaming revenue.

Ben Robinson, managing partner at Corfai, argues that the American listing achieved what it was supposed to achieve. The problems came afterwards. “The question was which arm of the K-shaped market Flutter would end up on. We have the answer now. Capital is concentrated in a narrow band of technology names and everything else is being marked on earnings.”