Paddy Power shares fall as Donald Trump victory eats into winnings

Shares in betting services firm Paddy Power-Betfair fell by over 3% yesterday after the company said fourth-quarter revenues took a £40m (€46.5m) hit on the back of unfavourable sporting results and the outcome of the US presidential election.

The company lost £5m, alone, on the US election. Around £4m of that went to people who bet on a Donald Trump victory, but the company had also made the early call to pay out — in October — on a Hillary Clinton win, which cost it nearly £1m.

A string of unfavourable football results — particularly a large number of favourites winning English Premiership matches — also negatively affected Paddy Power-Betfair’s fourth-quarter performance.