Paddy Power “big-get-bigger.” [1]

PADDY Power announced an increase of 16% of its annual profits. In light of the news, it has vowed to ensure that it remains within the “big-get-bigger” category. Chief executive Patrick Kennedysaid that with only 9pc of the €285 billion global gambling market currently online, there was significant scope for continued strong market growth.

He said that scale will be a pre-requisite to take advantage of the opportunities: “Put simply, we are determined that Paddy Power will be in the ‘big-get-bigger’ segment of operators.”

The future for Paddy Power looks like it could get bigger and brighter in the world of online gaming, as the company states that it was one of the fastest growing retailers on the UK high street. The company said: “We would be disappointed if job creation on the high street would be hampered by the introduction of anti-competitive policies without a proper body of evidence.”

Independent.ie reported The Dublin-based firm, which has doubled its UK estate to 165 shops in the last two years, said it was a period of “game-changing” developments for the industry, particularly in online betting and new markets.

Paddy Power boosted its number of online customers in the UK by 50pc to 710,043 and said profits from internet betting lifted 29pc to €74.3 million, despite investment costs and less favourable results.

Almost half of its online sportsbook customers used smartphones to place their bets last month.

Across the group, Paddy Power took €4.6 billion of wagers last year, an increase of 19pc on the World Cup year in 2010, while pre-tax profits were up to €121.2 million. Operating profits in the UK shop estate have increased eight-fold since 2009 to stand at €10.5 million.