Holiday Season

What is Holiday Season?

Last week’s first leg between these two sides was a frustrating one for both teams. Benfica will feel disappointed not to have taken advantage of Arsenal’s wasteful nature in front of goal, while The Gunners will be kicking themselves not to have sealed the tie at the first time of asking.

The away goal for the North London side will no doubt have pleased boss Mikel Arteta, but in recent weeks, his side have once again slipped down into the bottom half of the Premier League and that will not have bought him any favour with the former Invincibles’ increasingly frustrated fanbase.

We think Arsenal will have enough to progress, but they might need to get a late goal in order to progress. Frenchman Alexandre Lacazette is very reliable from those half chances that could win the tie.

About Holiday Season

FanDuel remains the leading US sportsbook, while Flutter’s international businesses provide additional sources of growth. But that quality comes with high expectations.

Beynon describes Flutter as “the highest-quality online betting franchise globally”, with FanDuel’s leadership position providing “significant long-term value”. The problem is that the market is increasingly questioning how much future earnings growth can be generated from that position as the industry matures.

DraftKings is a different proposition. Its share price went from $43.30 on 18 September 2025, to $21.75 upon market closure last week. Beynon says it “arguably offers the greatest operational upside if it can continue converting strong customer growth into sustained profitability”. Its prediction market strategy could also become an advantage if the new market proves complementary to sportsbook betting.

How to play Holiday Season

Revenue from the US and Canada increased 161% year-on-year (or 176% in constant currency) to €56.9 million.

This was due to its partnership with Hard Rock Bet in Florida, and the strength of its games powered by Past Motor Racing (PMR). These are expected to normalise in subsequent quarters.

North America continues to be a strong and prominent region for Playtech. US general manager Jonathan Doubilet told iGB’s sister publication GGB in June that it had exceeded its expectations in the region.