Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment cut guidance for the full year despite the third quarter of the year showing strong underlying growth.

The group said the cut was due to a run of unfavourable sports results in October and a temporary exit from the Netherlands following a change in regulations there.

The company said sports revenue rose 13 per cent to £906 million in the three months to the end of September, with total revenue up 9 per cent to £1.4 billion.

Group online revenue was up 13 per cent, with average monthly players up 13 per cent year on year.

In the UK and Ireland, revenue fell 5 per cent due to the busier, more high profile sporting calendar in the previous year, but recreational growth continued as average monthly players rose 19 per cent.

In Australia, the Covid-19 restrictions that have forced people to stay at home during recent months have also fuelled a 20 per cent increase in revenue, bolstered by customer retention.

The US saw an 85 per cent rise, with 1.9 million average monthly players in September.

Flutter’s international business fell 3 per cent, with growth of 6 per cent excluding the impact of German product and tax changes.

“While a run of customer-friendly results in October have resulted in win margins being below expected levels in the quarter to date, the underlying strength of our business is clear; we have grown our online recreational player base by 46 per cent in just two years,” said chief executive Peter Jackson. “With more international jurisdictions and US states on the path to regulation, we look forward to sustainably growing our global player base further in 2022.”

Flutter said the temporary closure of its Dutch operations would cost it £10 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in 2021 and approximately £40 million in 2022, assuming it recommenced trading in the third quarter of next year and that its Dutch operations break even in the second half.

Added to a round of unfavourable sports results in the first three weeks of October, the group has revised adjusted EBITDA expectations for its business excluding the US in 2021 to between £1.24 billion and £1.28 billion. Previous guidance was in the range of £1.27 billion to €1.37 billion.

In the US,net revenue guidance remains unchanged at £1.285-1.425 billion.