Paddy Power refunds punters following Thierry Henry cheating Ireland out of World Cup
November 19, 2009 by mbates
Following the dramatic ending to the Republic of Irelands World Cup campaign for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa where they lost the games due to a blatant handball by Thierry Henry, the Irish bookmaker Paddy Power have today refunded over £110,000 to punters who had backed Ireland to qualify for next years finals.
A spokesman for Paddy Power said “Luck of the Irish me arse! Not only did FIFA change the rules to protect the big teams, but then we drew France and that dirty little thief Henry cheats us out of a place in the World Cup. After all that we’re only too happy to put our hand in our pocket and hopefully ease some of the pain for our patriotic punters.”
The handball is not the first time that FIFA have courted controversy over the qualifying campaign, as when the draw for the play-offs was imminent FIFA announced that they would be introducing a seeding system for the draw which would make sure that the four teams with best records in recent tournaments would be drawn against the least successful teams for the play offs. This was condemned and accusations were thrown against FIFA that they were more motivated by finance and politics than fair play. It was suggested that FIFA wanted to ensure that the larger teams made it through to ensure higher viewing figures which in turn bring in more revenue from corporate sponsorship.
Paddy Power payout on wee bet
March 2, 2009 by mbates
The statement released by budget airline Ryan Air that they are considering introducing an in flight charge for toilet breaks has left most people speechless and a few people annoyed but for one punter its meant a great pay day.
Last year the Irish bookmaker Paddy Power ran a campaign as to what fees Ryan Air would introduce next to their flights service. One punter said they would charge to go for a wee and was given odds of 100/1 on a £3 bet as it was believed that would be a step too far! Although Ryanair has yet to fully confirm that they will introduce the fee, Paddy Power have decided to pay out £300 to the lucky punter.
A spokesman for Paddypower said: “Chances are the toilet charge but we had to admire our punters foresight! Who on earth could have seen that coming? At least if Ryanair do introduce wee fees, the £300 will cover the cost of a few hundred trips to the loo!”
Horse Racing Ireland release betting figures
January 14, 2009 by mbates
Irish bookmaker Paddy Power saw its share value drop sharply yesterday in reaction to figures release by Horse Racing Ireland that showed that there was a decline in the horseracing industry has decreased for the first time in fifteen years.
Paddy Power’s shares fell from 7.8pc to €11.90 and have shrunk further €11.28 by lunchtime today, increasing its decline this year to just over 11 percent.
Horse Racing Ireland said that on course betting had fell by over 18 percent in 2008 due to adverse weather and the current economic decline. An example of the decrease in punters at racecourses was seen at the recent Christmas meeting at Leopardstown which saw crowds reduced from 59,000 to 57,000 over the four day event but saw a decrease at the Tote by €400,000 to €1.9m.
No tax increase on Irish online gambling
November 26, 2008 by mbates
The Irish Government has confirmed this week that is has no plans to tax bookmakers operating over the telephone or online because it needs to spend more time researching the industry. Brian Lenihan the Irish minister for Finance declared that the tax on land based bookmakers was to doubled to two per cent on turnover from the beginning of next year, but online and telephone service will remain tax-free
Previous attempts to tax the online betting industry by the Irish Government have failed as many of them mover their operation to Gibraltar and other tax havens. The government however has stated that it does wish to force some type of tax onto the sector in the future.
US elections sees £10 million in bets
November 3, 2008 by mbates
As the world gets ready to welcome the next American president, UK based punters have staked a record £10 million worth of bets on the two horse race, almost four times as much that was bet on the 2004 elections. Obama is currently beating John McCain in the opinion polls by seven points, beating McCain in the key battlegrounds of Florida and Missouri.
The Irish bookmaker Paddy Power has already paid out on Barack Obama on being named as the next US President, however it is still taking bets on the outcome but with Obama having odds of 1/14 you would need to put on a £500 just to win back £35.00 it does not seem to be worth the gamble, as with any betting event - anything can happen, just ask Al Gore, he was destined to be beat Bush in the 2000 US Presidential elections.
A spokesman from the Racing Post said: “The bookmakers have never seen such a high level of interest in an American Presidential Election, Obama has caught the hearts and minds of British punters and could turn out to be the most popular president on these shores since JFK. ”
The election results are expected to be announced early on Wednesday morning, the results will be shown live on the BBC News 24 and Sky News.
Paddy Power pay out on Obama as next President of USA
October 16, 2008 by mbates
Paddy Power have today paid out on all backers of Barack Obama as the forty fourth President of the United States of America following the conclusion of the Presidential debate in New York.
The shock move comes a full three weeks before the 4th November election day and sees Paddy Power paying out over one million Euros in winning bets. Prior to the payout Barack Obama was virtually unbackable with odds of 1-9. A spokesperson for Paddy Power said “We declare this race well and truly over and congratulate all those who backed Obama, your winnings await you”
Despite the massive payout of today. Paddy Power is still offering betting right up to election day, Barack Obama’s rival in the presidential stakes John McCain is currently showing odds of 5.1.
Paddy Power shortens US election postponement odds
October 8, 2008 by mbates
Paddy Power has reduced the odds for the US Presidential Election to be postponed from 66/1 to 40/1 due to the current economic crisis that is gripping the States.
With just over €1000 being placed on the November election being moved until 2009 Paddy Power spokesperson Sharon McHugh said: “It would be astonishing if the US Election were to be postponed. Even through the great depression in 1932, World War 2 and a series of other wars since then, US elections have always gone ahead. However, that hasn’t stopped our customers betting on the unthinkable.”
Other betting on the US Election sees Barack Obama has going ahead in the betting, he is now just 1/5 with Paddy Power to succeed Bush as President, while John McCain trails at 10/3 even with the adding of Sarah Palin as his running mate.
Paddypower Payout Early on United Winning Title
April 18, 2008 by Robert
Irish Bookmaker Paddypower has paid out early on Manchester United winning the 2008 Premier League title. They took the decision to pay out early to all those customers who had back United to win the Premier League throughout the season on Friday morning, depsite Chelsea moving just two points behind them in the league with a 1-0 win over Everton on Thursday night.
A spokesman for the firm said “Let’s be honest, they are home and hosed at this stage and it would take a minor miracle for Chelsea to catch them. Having said that, we did end up paying out on both the betting odds for Arsenal and United to win the title a few years ago, so you never know. Whatever happens, we reckon that the money might as well be in the punter’s pocket at this stage.”
It is a great gesture from the company to reward punters who had backed Fergie’s men at odds of 13/8 at the start of the season and they could face an even bigger payout if the Reds go on to lift the Champions League. However, Paddypower could end up with egg on their faces as bookmaker Fred Done, Chairman of Betfred, found out when paying out early on United to win the titlte in 1998, when eight point clear. That season, Arsenal came pipped them at the post and so anybody who has backed Chelsea shouldn’t throw away that betting slip just yet.
Paddy Power Uk Betting Operation
September 17, 2007 by mcohen
For many who have studied the recent results of bookmaker Paddy Power there are questions being asked about their UK retail operation as they continue to put a drag on profits which are doing just fine and dandy but the reatil devision in the UK is by the end of June this year, Paddy Power had 59 retail betting shops in the UK. Unfortunately, it is still losing money in the UK with first-half operating losses falling to €500,000 compared to €3m for the first half of last year.
For many it is felt that they should just get out of these shops and focus on the online operation as they are just minnows compared to the big three Ladbrokes, William Hill and Coral in terms of shops in the UK.
Paddy Power boss Patrick Kennedy has presided over a 65 per cent increase in the share price of the quoted bookie. However, with the company now valued at 25 times this year’s likely profits, Kennedy is going to find it difficult to maintain this rate of share price growth.
As its most recent half-year results show, Paddy Power is still dependent on its core Irish betting shops for 55 per cent of its operating profits. Meanwhile Paddy Power is generating about 36 per cent of its operating profits on-line with the remainder coming from its telephone betting operation.
While Kennedy deserves credit for virtually eliminating Paddy Power’s UK losses, you have to wonder if he is banging his head against a brick wall. Compared to the likes of Ladbrokes (2,100 betting shops in the UK), William Hill (2,250 shops) and Coral (1,500 shops), Paddy Power’s retail UK betting operation is strictly in the Mickey Mouse category. If he wants Paddy Power to keep its stellar share rating then Kennedy should flog off the UK betting shops and concentrate on the on-line betting instead.
Source: Irish Independant
Paddy Power Cheltenham Betting Up
September 4, 2007 by mcohen
The Paddy Power betting group showed excellent half year results for the six months ended 30 June the company reported an operating profit growth of 108pc to €40.8m and was very pleased with its Cheltenham Festival betting in shops due to the new epos system, even though there were some online problems on one of the days of the festival. The company reported revenues of €143.7m, up considerably from the €104.9m reported in the same period last year.
Paddy Power chief executive Patrick Kennedy was reported to be very pleased with operating profits at its online channel which increased by 53pc or €5.1m in the first half of 2007.
Chief Executive Patrick Kennedy was very encouraged with the online results as “Customer numbers in the online channel continued to grow strongly with an 18pc increase at the end of the half year relative to June 2006, despite slower growth in sports book customers without the Football World Cup,” Kennedy explained.
“Online competition remains intense but we are confident that our brand, product range and top class customer service, as well as our continuous drive to increase our marketing efficiency, means we are well positioned for growth.”
Kennedy said that the aim is to continue to invest in people and technology to optimise customer acquisition and retention.
“For example, we added our newly developed affiliate management system to paddypower.com during the period, automating the process for other web site operators to promote our products on their websites.
“This year’s Cheltenham Festival and Grand National were the first for many shops with EPOS and we were pleased with the improvement in customer service from speedier bet placement and collection, including the benefit of EPOS readable ‘mark sense’ dockets for shop coupons and press promotions,” Kennedy explained.
“We are also extracting more benefits by continuously refining and acting upon information from the system for operational management, marketing, risk and security,” he added.
