Peter Jackson

Overview

Peter Jackson
Born	1975 (age 50–51) Leeds, Yorkshire, England
Citizenship	United Kingdom
Education	Manufacturing engineering; mechanical engineering
Alma mater	University of Cambridge (Pembroke College)
Occupation	Business executive
Employer	Flutter Entertainment plc
Known for	Chief executive of Flutter Entertainment; expansion of FanDuel in the United States
Title	Chief executive officer
Term	2018–present
Predecessor	Breon Corcoran
Board member of	Deliveroo plc (former non-executive director)
Children	3

💼 Peter Jackson (born October 1975) is a British business executive who has served as chief executive officer (CEO) of Flutter Entertainment plc, one of the world’s largest online gambling and sports betting groups, since January 2018. A former consultant and banker, he previously held senior roles at McKinsey & Company, Halifax Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, Travelex, Banco Santander and Worldpay UK before moving into the betting industry as a non-executive director and later chief executive of what became Flutter. Under his leadership Flutter has pursued rapid international expansion, notably through its FanDuel brand in the United States, a €12 billion merger with The Stars Group, and a shift in its primary stock market listing to the New York Stock Exchange, during a period in which the group’s revenues and market capitalization grew sharply.

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Early life and education

🎓 Birth and upbringing. Jackson was born in October 1975 in Leeds, Yorkshire, and grew up in the north of England. He is described as having excelled academically and went on to study engineering at the University of Cambridge, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in manufacturing engineering at Pembroke College and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. This combination of technical training and quantitative skills later underpinned his data-driven approach to management in financial services and gambling.

🧮 Technical mindset and early interest in finance. Alongside his engineering studies, Jackson developed an early interest in business and finance, including a period working in finance before attending university, which exposed him to the commercial side of financial services at a young age. His Cambridge education emphasized technology, operational efficiency and problem-solving, providing a framework he would later apply to digital payments and online betting. Commentators note that, rather than a single formative mentor, a blend of technical education and early exposure to financial markets helped shape his leadership style and willingness to engage with complex numerical and technological issues.

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Career

Consulting and banking

📊 McKinsey and early consulting work. Jackson began his professional career in the late 1990s at the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, where he spent around three years working with clients across different industries. The experience honed his strategic thinking, exposed him to a range of corporate situations and gave him early practice in diagnosing operational problems and designing data-driven solutions, skills that would later prove useful in restructuring and expanding large consumer-facing businesses.

🏦 Transition into UK retail banking. After leaving consulting, Jackson moved into retail and consumer banking, holding roles at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) and subsequently Lloyds Banking Group during the 2000s. In these positions he gained experience in financial services, consumer credit and large-scale retail operations, but he remained one executive within sizeable banking groups. His exposure to regulated financial products, risk management and mass-market customer bases nonetheless laid a foundation for his later work in payments and gambling, sectors that share similar concerns around regulatory compliance and customer protection.

Travelex and innovation roles

💱 Chief executive of Travelex. Jackson’s first major step into top-tier leadership came in 2010 when Travelex founder Lloyd Dorfman appointed him chief executive of Travelex Holdings Ltd, a global retail and wholesale foreign exchange business, when Jackson was in his mid-thirties. Moving from senior roles in banking to running an entire multinational group marked a significant career pivot. At Travelex he oversaw the company during a period of rapid digital change in payments and currency services and later led the business through its sale in 2014 to B. R. Shetty, a deal that was seen as a successful exit for the existing owners. The episode established Jackson’s reputation as a leader comfortable with both operational management and transaction-driven value creation.

🚀 Banco Santander and fintech innovation. Following the sale of Travelex, Jackson returned briefly to banking when he joined Banco Santander in 2016 as head of the group’s innovation arm. In that role he was tasked with bringing fintech thinking into a long-established international bank, focusing on digital products and new technologies in payments and retail financial services. The position reinforced his interest in technology-enabled finance and provided further experience in steering innovation initiatives in a heavily regulated environment.

Worldpay and route to Flutter

💳 Worldpay UK leadership and sale to Vantiv. In March 2017 Jackson became chief executive of Worldpay UK, the British business of payments processor Worldpay, giving him direct responsibility for a major player in card payments and merchant acquiring. His tenure coincided with Worldpay’s agreement to be acquired by U.S. rival Vantiv in a £7.9 billion transaction, after which the combined group was rebranded under the Worldpay name. The sale further deepened his exposure to cross-border deals and the dynamics of payment processing at scale.

🎰 Non-executive role and appointment at Paddy Power Betfair. Even before joining Worldpay, Jackson had developed ties to the gambling sector through a non-executive directorship at Paddy Power Betfair (later renamed Flutter Entertainment), which he held from 2013. In August 2017 the company announced that he would succeed Breon Corcoran as chief executive with effect from January 2018. The appointment of a payments executive to lead a betting group was characterized in contemporaneous reporting as a “punt” by the board, and initial market reaction included a short-term share price dip amid investor uncertainty about his background. The board, however, emphasized Jackson’s experience in consumer-facing businesses and digital transformation when explaining its choice.

Chief executive of Flutter Entertainment

🌐 Initial strategic priorities at Flutter. When Jackson took up the chief executive role in January 2018, the company—then still branded Paddy Power Betfair—was contending with intensifying competition and a share price that had underperformed to the point where it was seen as being at risk of dropping out of the FTSE 100 index. He outlined priorities around sharpening the group’s technology platform, improving customer experience and repositioning the business for growth beyond its traditional UK and Irish betting markets.

🇺🇸 Expansion into the United States via FanDuel. A central element of Jackson’s strategy emerged in 2018, when the United States Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on sports betting, opening the way for states to legalize online and retail wagering. Flutter had already acquired a controlling interest in FanDuel, a U.S. daily fantasy sports operator, and under Jackson the group used FanDuel as its primary vehicle for entering the newly liberalizing American sports betting market. The company invested heavily—reportedly “hundreds of millions of dollars” annually—in marketing and customer acquisition as new states opened, a strategy that produced substantial early operating losses in the U.S. division and attracted criticism from some investors and analysts concerned about the scale and duration of those losses.

📈 FanDuel’s market position and profitability. Jackson argued that the U.S. build-out was a long-term investment in market leadership, and by the early 2020s FanDuel had become the leading operator in U.S. online sports betting by market share, ahead of main rival DraftKings. As the U.S. market matured, the division moved towards profitability, and Jackson publicly highlighted that investors had come to accept the business would generate profits in America after absorbing its initial losses. The U.S. operations grew large enough that the United States became Flutter’s single biggest market by revenue, reshaping the company’s geographic profile.

🧩 Mergers, acquisitions and portfolio building. Beyond the U.S. expansion, Jackson pursued a strategy of scale through mergers and acquisitions. In 2020 Flutter completed a roughly €12 billion all-share combination with The Stars Group, adding brands such as PokerStars and Sky Bet to its portfolio and creating what was described as the world’s largest online betting and gaming company by revenue. The group also acquired or increased stakes in other businesses, including an Indian fantasy sports platform and an Italian betting operator, to build positions in emerging or strategically attractive markets and to diversify its mix across sports betting, poker, casino and fantasy sports. Jackson has promoted the idea of a “Flutter edge,” in which technology or product innovations developed for one brand can be rolled out across other brands and jurisdictions within the enlarged group.

🏛️ Listing changes and corporate structure. As Flutter’s U.S. operations grew, Jackson supported a strategy to align the group more closely with U.S. capital markets. Flutter pursued a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and in May 2024 shifted its primary listing from London to New York, reflecting the importance of its American business and the desire to access a deeper pool of U.S. investors. The company also repositioned its operational leadership structure towards the United States, with senior management and key decision-making functions increasingly based there, although Flutter retained a significant presence in Ireland and the United Kingdom.

💹 Business performance under Jackson. The financial performance of Flutter changed markedly over Jackson’s tenure. When he became chief executive, the group’s market capitalization was in the single-digit billions of pounds and the business was viewed as a relatively mature bookmaker with limited growth prospects. By the mid-2020s, Flutter’s market value had risen several-fold, with estimates around £27 billion (approximately $35 billion) by 2023 and higher valuations reported subsequently, while annual revenues more than quadrupled over a similar period. Revenue growth was driven by U.S. expansion and the enlarged portfolio of online brands, and the company undertook share buybacks alongside reinvesting in technology and marketing. Analysts and commentators have frequently contrasted Flutter’s trajectory under Jackson with that of other large gambling groups, noting that it often set the pace in terms of scale and international reach.

💵 Relative position in the gambling industry. Within the context of the global gambling sector, Flutter under Jackson became one of the largest operators by revenue and market capitalization, competing with or surpassing peers such as Entain and other international online betting groups. The combination of market share in online sports betting, poker and casino, together with the FanDuel brand’s position in the United States, has led some industry observers to describe Flutter as a benchmark for digital gambling companies’ strategies in new regulated markets.

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Compensation and financial standing

👔 Executive compensation levels. Jackson’s remuneration as chief executive of Flutter increased substantially as the company expanded and adopted U.S.-style compensation structures. In 2024 his total pay package was reported at about $21.17 million (€19.5 million), almost triple the figure for the previous year. The bulk of this package consisted of long-term share-based awards, with his base salary accounting for a relatively small portion alongside an annual cash bonus tied to short-term performance targets.

🧾 Revised contract and incentive structure. As part of Flutter’s shift in primary listing to the NYSE, Jackson’s contract was revised to bring his terms closer to those common among U.S.-listed peers. From 2025 his base salary was reduced by around 13.5 percent, but his potential annual bonus was increased up to 400 percent of salary, and he became eligible for substantial long-term incentive awards, including restricted stock units and performance shares that could reach up to 1,400 percent of salary in value if performance conditions are fully met. Flutter’s board also raised the minimum shareholding requirement for its chief executive, with Jackson expected to hold shares equivalent to 600 percent of his salary, to reinforce alignment with shareholders.

🪙 Wealth and share ownership. Regulatory filings indicate that Jackson’s personal wealth is closely linked to his share-based remuneration. Public data from investor services such as GuruFocus have estimated that, as of the mid-2020s, he owned on the order of tens of thousands of Flutter shares, with a total value in the tens of millions of dollars depending on the share price at the time, and that he occasionally sells shares primarily to meet tax obligations when awards vest. Unlike founder-chief executives who retain very large personal stakes, Jackson’s wealth is that of a highly paid professional manager whose fortunes are significantly, but not exclusively, tied to equity incentives in the company he leads.

🧑‍💼 External directorships. In addition to his responsibilities at Flutter, Jackson has held external board roles. In 2021 he joined the board of Deliveroo plc, a UK-listed food delivery technology company, as an independent non-executive director and member of its audit and risk committee. Deliveroo highlighted his experience in international consumer technology businesses and digital platforms when announcing his appointment. He served on the board until the company’s subsequent acquisition, after which his external directorship responsibilities were scaled back to focus on Flutter’s global expansion.

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Personal life and leadership style

🏡 Family and privacy. Jackson maintains a comparatively low public profile in his personal life. Publicly available information indicates that he is married with three children, but there is little detailed reporting on his family, reflecting a preference to keep his domestic life separate from his corporate role. Biographical sketches typically focus on his professional achievements and interests rather than personal anecdotes.

🚴 Everyday habits and workplace culture. Media profiles have portrayed Jackson as relatively informal in appearance and habits for a large-company chief executive. He is known to cycle to work and has been described as favouring casual dress, including jeans and trainers, when appropriate. At Flutter’s offices he is reported to eschew a traditional private corner office, instead working from shared spaces or ordinary meeting rooms, in keeping with a culture intended to be accessible and collaborative rather than hierarchical.

🤝 Management approach and interests. Colleagues and commentators often characterize Jackson’s leadership style as analytical and data-driven, reflecting his engineering education and consulting background, but also as approachable and collaborative, giving substantial autonomy to local management teams within Flutter’s portfolio of brands. He has expressed strong personal interest in both technology and sports, aligning with Flutter’s focus on digital sports betting and gaming products, and has emphasized the importance of using technology not only to drive growth but also to manage risk and customer protection in gambling operations.

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Controversies and challenges

⚖️ Responsible gambling and regulatory scrutiny. As chief executive of a major gambling group, Jackson has faced ongoing scrutiny over responsible gambling practices and regulatory compliance. Under his leadership Flutter has been subject to enforcement actions by regulators, including fines imposed by the UK Gambling Commission related to historical shortcomings in identifying and intervening with customers at risk of gambling harm and issues such as inappropriate targeting of marketing materials. Criticisms reported in commentary have included examples where some customers were able to gamble substantial sums in short periods before effective interventions occurred, prompting questions about the adequacy of the company’s monitoring systems. Flutter has stated that it is committed to leading on safer gambling initiatives and has pointed to investments in technology and data analytics intended to improve detection and prevention of problematic behaviour.

📜 Debate over taxation and regulation. Jackson has also been an active voice in public discussions about gambling taxation and regulation, particularly in the United Kingdom and Ireland. He has argued that setting gambling taxes at excessively high rates risks driving customers towards unregulated or black-market operators, potentially reducing overall tax revenues and undermining consumer protections, a position he has summarised by warning that overly aggressive tax hikes are “in no one’s interest.” These comments have drawn criticism from some campaigners who favour stronger curbs on gambling, while others in the industry share his concerns about unintended consequences of steep tax increases. Jackson has similarly highlighted the impact of high state tax rates in parts of the United States, noting for example the 51 percent tax on online sports betting revenues in New York, as a constraint on operators’ profitability.

📺 Dispute with Fox over FanDuel stake. One of the more prominent corporate disputes during Jackson’s tenure concerned FanDuel and Fox Corporation. Fox held an option to acquire a significant minority stake in FanDuel, and a disagreement arose over the valuation and terms under which the option could be exercised, leading to an arbitration process. The tribunal’s decision largely favoured Flutter’s interpretation of FanDuel’s valuation, maintaining the group’s control over its U.S. flagship brand. Jackson has subsequently stated that Flutter continues to have constructive relationships with media partners, including Fox, emphasizing the importance of such partnerships for marketing and customer acquisition in the U.S. sports betting market.

🧱 Integration and international regulatory challenges. Flutter’s rapid expansion through mergers and acquisitions under Jackson has brought challenges in integrating technology platforms, corporate cultures and compliance frameworks across multiple jurisdictions. In some markets, such as the Netherlands, the group temporarily withdrew from online operations while navigating new licensing regimes before re-entering with locally compliant offerings. Balancing local regulatory requirements with the efficiencies of group-wide systems has been an ongoing focus of management, and industry commentary has noted that the complexity of operating at Flutter’s scale can create operational and regulatory risks that must be continually managed.

🗳️ Executive pay and shareholder oversight. Jackson’s rising remuneration and Flutter’s decision to shift its primary listing to New York have attracted discussion about the broader trend of UK-based companies moving towards U.S. markets and pay norms. Some commentators have questioned whether very high potential pay packages are appropriate in the gambling sector, especially given social concerns about problem gambling, while others have pointed to Flutter’s strong share price performance and growth in revenues as justification for incentive structures. Shareholders have generally approved the company’s remuneration reports and contract revisions, with support attributed in part to the financial returns delivered during Jackson’s tenure.

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Legacy and outlook

🎯 Assessment of impact. Commentators broadly credit Jackson with transforming Flutter from a predominantly UK and Irish bookmaker into a diversified global online gambling group with significant presence in North America, Europe and other regions. His tenure has been marked by a willingness to commit substantial resources to long-term opportunities, such as the early and aggressive push into U.S. sports betting via FanDuel, alongside major corporate transactions like the merger with The Stars Group and multiple bolt-on acquisitions. These moves have reshaped the company’s scale, geographic footprint and product mix and have helped position Flutter as a leading example of a technology-driven gambling operator.

📌 Future challenges and strategic direction. Looking ahead, assessments of Jackson’s leadership highlight a series of ongoing challenges and opportunities: sustaining growth once the U.S. sports betting market matures, expanding into additional regulated markets in regions such as Asia and Latin America, and continuing to integrate a large portfolio of brands while maintaining local relevance. At the same time, expectations around environmental, social and governance issues, particularly responsible gambling, are likely to remain central to evaluations of Flutter’s performance under his leadership, requiring demonstrable progress on player protection alongside financial results. Jackson’s career path—from engineering and consulting through payments to global gambling—has been cited as illustrative of how expertise in technology and data-driven decision-making can be applied across industries, and his legacy at Flutter will depend on how effectively those strengths continue to be deployed as the regulatory and competitive landscape evolves.

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