Peter Jackson took over the day-to-day running of the betting group in January of last year.

It may have largely been a Cheltenham week to forget for bookmakers but the punter-friendly results have not led to a fall for industry leaders like Paddy Power.

The US is being viewed as the next area of consolidation for European betting companies, with markets anticipating gambling legalisation to sweep the country over the next few years.

Paddy Power-Betfair has poured cold water on suggestions the US betting market could substantially open up in the wake of Pennsylvania liberalising its gaming laws.

Shares in betting services group Paddy Power-Betfair dropped a further 4% yesterday after it posted first-half earnings which fell short of analyst expectations.

Shares in Paddy Power Betfair fell more than 8% during yesterday on the unexpected news that Breon Corcoran was stepping down as CEO, a day before the company’s half year results.

Paddy Power-Betfair is looking to grow further in the US, via acquisition, depending on how much the largely unregulated market further opens up and the level of opportunity that presents itself.

Paddy Power-Betfair has made what analysts have called a “modest” bet on the US market by acquiring New York-based specialist betting firm Draft for a potential total price of $48m (€44m).

Tactically astute, the bookies were able to lure the punters into dangerous areas and dispossess them at will. But the indefatigable underdogs never knew when they were beaten, never knew when to stop, writes Larry Ryan.

Paddy Power Betfair is seeking to get even with punters at next week’s Cheltenham Festival after the UK betting industry incurred record losses at last year’s edition of the storied horse-racing event.

Shares in bookmaker Paddy Power Betfair fell almost 6% yesterday as brokers focused on the prospects of growth in online gaming across the industry.

Shares in Paddy Power-Betfair jumped more than 4% to breach the €100 mark, yesterday, after the betting services group reported on a strong third quarter and upped its earnings estimates for the full year.

Paddy Power-Betfair chairman Gary McGann yesterday defended the betting services group’s remuneration policy as “fair, transparent, and balanced” despite nearly a third of investors voting against it at the group’s first AGM as a merged entity.

Shares in newly merged betting services firm Paddy Power-Betfair fell by nearly 4% yesterday, before recovering slightly, after the group said first-quarter revenues were affected by adverse sports results, including a €20m hit from the Cheltenham festival in March.

Paddy Power-Betfair has no immediate plans to replace outgoing chief operating officer Andy McCue — whose departure was announced yesterday — with his role set to be subsumed by chief executive Breon Corcoran for the foreseeable future.

Paddy Power’s management has said it will not decide on the level of redundancies stemming from its near €7bn merger with UK rival Betfair until completion of the deal in the first quarter of 2016.

Shares in Paddy Power rose by nearly 20% yesterday on the back of the betting services firm issuing a strong set of interim results, upping its full-year profit forecast and announcing a proposed merger with online rival Betfair.

Paddy Power shareholders are in line for a fresh €80m windfall, via a special dividend payout, if the leading Irish betting services firm succeeds in its planned merger with UK-based online rival, Betfair.

Betfair is expected to continue returning sizeable amounts of cash to shareholders via special dividend payouts, over the coming years, after announcing a 70% increase in its latest annual dividend.

Online gambling company, Betfair plans a cash return of £200 million (€253m) to shareholders and higher dividend payouts after posting a 51% rise in first-half earnings.

Online gambling company Betfair reported strong growth in quarterly profit yesterday, thanks to the World Cup, and defended its accounting policies after an error relating to past dividend payments.

Online betting and gaming services firm Betfair has reported strong earnings growth for the first half of its financial year, adding that it intends to grow more aggressively in the US and mainland Europe.

Online betting and gaming services firm Betfair has reported strong earnings growth for the first half of its financial year, adding that it intends to grow more aggressively in the US and mainland Europe.

Betfair is starting to reap the benefits of cost-cutting and its focus on attracting more punters in well regulated betting markets such as Britain and Ireland, the online gambling company said yesterday.

Gambling website Betfair was today said to be mulling a £140m (€166.2m) payout to shareholders as part of its defence against a hostile takeover.

PADDY POWER has made its first foray into the north American market through the signing of a three-year supply deal with the British Columbia Lottery Corporation in Canada.

THE board of directors at bookmaker Paddy Power received a combined total of just more than €6.82m in remuneration last year — almost €600,000 more than in 2009.

THE founders of Startup bootcamp used yesterday’s Dublin Web Summit to announce the addition of Ireland to its growing list of locations. The venture by the technology entrepreneurship mentoring programme, which started in Copenhagen, acts as a high level incubation centre for technology start-ups.

PADDY POWER paid out nearly €1 million in bonuses to executive directors last year, despite the company suffering a 15% fall in pre-tax profit and an 8% reversal in operating profits.

BOOKMAKER Paddy Power has significantly expanded its international reach by entering the Australian market, via the A$48.5 million (€27.2m) purchase of a controlling stake in the Darwin-based online betting company, Sportsbet.

PADDY Power director Breon Corcoran is in line for a bonus of up to €2.5 million in 2009.

Breon Corcoran has been appointed managing director (non-retail and development) of Paddy Power.

Ireland’s largest bookmaker, ISEQ-listed Paddy Power, has signed an online poker deal with Tribeca Tables Europe, joining Tribeca’s other customers, including Victor Chandler.