Flutter upgrades U.S. revenue guidance after strong Q3

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Flutter upgraded full-year revenue guidance for its fast-growing U.S. business on Wednesday, saying further momentum in the third quarter underpinned confidence that it will be profitable for the first time there next year.

The world's largest online betting firm said an 82% year-on-year jump in revenues in the United States, where its FanDuel unit remained the number one operator, together with a recent Italian acquisition drove total revenues 22% higher in the quarter on a constant currency basis.

The Paddy Power, Betfair and PokerStars owner now expects full-year U.S. revenue of $2.95 billion to $3.2 billion, up from a previous forecast of $2.85 billion-$3.1 billion.

It still expects a $300 million to $360 million core earnings loss in the United States this year.

It also retained its full-year group core profit guidance of between 1.29 billion pounds ($1.49 billion) and 1.39 billion pounds following continued Irish retail store weakness and the cancellation of some sporting fixtures in the UK during the quarter.

"We are really pleased with our performance in our U.S. division since the start of the NFL in September, where we are now averaging over 1 million players on a regular NFL Sunday," Flutter Chief Executive Peter Jackson said in a statement.

"In addition, we are seeing an increase in customer retention rates, boosted by the start of the NBA season."

($1 = 0.8661 pounds)

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Jan Harvey)