FanDuel, the US gambling platform operated by Paddy Power Betfair owner Flutter, has agreed to pay $5 million (€4.22 million) to a US National Football League (NFL) franchise from which a former employee stole more than $20 million, depositing much of it with the sportsbook, according to reports in the US.
Sources told ESPN late last week that the agreement between FanDuel and the Jacksonville Jaguars was reached earlier this year.
It comes after Amit Patel, a former Jaguars finance manager, last year pleaded guilty to stealing $22 million from the organisation through a virtual credit card used for team expenses.
Mr Patel was sentenced to six and a half years in a US federal prison in March 2024 for wire fraud and other offences. He faces a related fraud charge in Florida, which carries a potential maximum 30-year sentence.
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Citing sources familiar with the agreement, ESPN reported that the NFL encouraged the Jaguars and FanDuel, one of its official betting partners, to come to a resolution but was not involved in the discussions.
The Jaguars organisation had asked FanDuel to repay some of the stolen money, according to an earlier ESPN report from early 2024.
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Mr Patel told CNN in August that he “illegally borrow[ed]” the money and used it for gambling, hoping to win and then repay the funds.
He was diagnosed with a gambling disorder a month after he was sacked by the Jaguars in early 2023, ESPN reported.
Mr Patel is also suing FanDuel for $250 million in the US, alleging that the gambling platform “exploited” his addiction, according to the sports media organisation.
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Dublin-based Flutter, which declined to comment on Tuesday, took full ownership of FanDuel in July after buying out Boyd Gaming’s 5 per cent stake in the company for $1.75 billion (€1.5 billion).
The deal valued FanDuel, the market-leading sportsbook in the US with a 41 per cent share, at $31 billion.
Flutter moved its primary stock market listing from Dublin to New York last year, a blow to Euronext Dublin, which has seen several heavyweight exits in recent times, including CRH and Smurfit Westrock.
Paddy Power was announced as the NFL’s official sports betting partner in Ireland earlier this month, in advance of the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Minnesota Vikings in Croke Park on September 28th.
The company said it would look to “enhance the fan experience” around the first-ever Dublin NFL game “with events, activations, and the usual Paddy mischief”.
