Paddy Power hails online growth

Bookmaker Paddy Power today said its online betting operations were going from “strength to strength” after it lifted profits by 15% last year.

The Dublin-based company revealed that almost three-quarters of its €139.2m in profits came online, having doubled its number of active customers to 1.6 million since 2010.

Much of the growth is due to betting through smartphones and tablet computers after mobile revenues increased by 185% last year.

Online profits grew 8% to €102.1m in 2012 – or by 27% before investment in four new ventures, up 46% to €15.3m.

It pointed out that only 9% of the €333bn global gambling market was currently online.

Paddy Power opened 44 new shops in the year but excluding the additional outlets betting volumes were still up 11% on a year earlier. The average gross win per gaming machine per week was in line with 2011 at €1,399.

Last week, London’s Newham Council rejected an application for a new shop because it said it flouted the 2005 Gambling Act on the grounds that it would make more money from gaming machines than from traditional betting.

Betting shops and casinos are allowed to offer machines which takes stakes of up to £100 and pay prizes of up to £500 and Paddy Power said it looked forward to the results of the Responsible Gambling Trust’s major research project into machine gaming.

The company added that trading in January and February had been strong, helped by favourable sporting results.