Paddy Power takes a tongue in cheek approach to their very successful business. Sometimes that strategy works quite well, and other times it has created controversy for the brand.
Let’s start at the beginning.
In 1988, three Irish bookmakers combined talents to open new retail outlets with the objective to provide greater value and fairness for its customers. Just over a decade later, this company enters the world wide web community and has grown exponentially each year offering multiple gaming options through paddypowerpoker.com, paddypowercasino.com, paddypowerbingo.com, and paddypowergames.com in addition to the sportsbook that’s the primary focus of paddypower.com.
Just ten years later and, through its parent company Power Leisure, Paddy had established 356 retail outlets, 209 in Ireland, eight in Northern Ireland, and 139 in Great Britain through a determined expansion strategy that placed these shops in prominent locations across Ireland as opposed to the side streets that typically housed bookmakers. In fact, at the end of 2000, Power Leisure listed on the London Stock Exchange to fund its UK expansion.
The growth of the brand shifted focus a bit to the acquisition of some competitors to increase its online presence as well as transforming the basic online sportsbook through mobile access. It recognized the importance of the new smartphone technology and, for a brief time back in 2010, Paddy Power was the only bookmaker in the world to be included in the Apple App store and launched mobile streaming on both Android and Apple apps in 2011. To put their mobile streaming into perspective, there are still sportsbooks out there today that still don’t offer streaming, even on their main website.
Combine the hundreds of retail shops with the prominent online and mobile presence, and the result is Paddy Power becoming the third largest online bookmaker and sixth largest online gaming business in Britain and Ireland. Paddy Power has also become the number one online corporate bookie in Australia through its acquisition of Sportsbet.
Company growth and acquisition of other businesses, they’re all pretty standard stuff. So, where does that controversy come into play? Well, Paddy Power’s marketing has been equally as aggressive as its expansion, and Paddy Power has implemented some attention-getting stunts that have sometimes backfired.
One particular advertising campaign featured sight-impaired footballers kicking a cat that, unsurprisingly, did not go over well and received hundreds of complaints. In 2012, Danish forward Nicklas Bendtner celebrated his second goal in the UEFA Euro match against Portugal by lowering his shorts to reveal a pair of Paddy Power underwear. Ladbrokes, the national team sponsor, was less than amused.
Some other “discussions” were provoked by betting opportunities listed including the outcome of the Oscar Pistorius murder trial, the potential assassination of former U.S. President Barack Obama, and the first species driven to extinction due to the BP Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Love it or hate it, people are talking about Paddy Power.
In 2016, Paddy Power evolved once again through a merger with Betfair, a direct competitor. Paddy Power acquired Betfair, resulting in Paddy Power Betfair (PPB).
PPB now operates four divisions:
Paddypower.com is a busy website, not only in traffic but content. It’s an information-packed, sports bountiful book with an adjoining casino as well as a live casino, poker room, bingo rooms, and a miscellaneous games area that encompasses pretty much everything that online gamblers seek to find.
There are a few things this company is known for and have made it stand out as a premier bookmaker for nearly two decades. It offers some of the best pricing on soccer favorites that can be found, running at a 106% margin, its cash back specials are plentiful, and it will offer odds on pretty much anything happening anywhere that’s of any significance.
Paddy Power built its reputation by presenting new opportunities for its customers, most notably the money-back special. It pioneered this concept, and the team feels that no one does it better, even though many keep trying.
In 2011, the sportsbook even got its customers in on the bonus structuring by asking them to choose their preferred money-back special for the Champions League Final at Wembley. The Barcelona win in 90 minutes resulted in €3 million transferred from the bookmaker to the player accounts.
If you look through the website, you may not even notice all of the different offers and promotions available as they’re regularly updated, and some even change daily. Look for “Pimp that Bet” to get better odds on select games or matches, but head over to the Promotions area to review the money back offers and specials that you can claim each day.
Zooming out a bit, you can take one glimpse at the paddypower.com homepage and get a good feel for where you want to go next. The sportsbook has a hefty menu but divides it into two areas. The top section features “quick links” all about the sportsbook area only and not the casino or other adjacent gaming areas.
The current quick links:
Do you see a pattern forming with jackpots and promotions? Pretty much everywhere you go on the website you’ll see some promotional offer whether it’s a bonus or a free bet refund.
You’ll note that there isn’t a separate racebook. Horse racing and greyhounds are part of the main sportsbook but do have their very own bonus programs and rotating specials. The sportsbook offers a Best Price Guarantee on UK and Irish Racing but also provides tracks in Europe, Asia, the US, and in the Virtuals area as well.
Live Betting tops the quick links section and not only offers in-play action but also provides some live streaming of select games and matches. This particular area is sizeable enough to satisfy many of its bettors, but not on par with some of its competitors that have large menus of live betting opportunities and round the clock feeds.
We still think it’s a huge benefit that’s becoming more and more popular with today’s sports enthusiasts. Remember, Paddy Power was one of the pioneers of mobile betting and offered live streaming on their apps starting back in 2011.
Getting into the nitty gritty of the sportsbook, the sports themselves, the menu is abundant and its markets even more so. It’s easy to find the sport and even the particular match you’re seeking as the left side menu then drops down to a sub menu when selected. So, if you click on football, you’re going to then see options for Matches, Coupons, Outrights, Specials, Teams and Virtuals at the top and then the lines feature Top Matches, Live, My Matches, Premier League, and Championship.
The day’s calendar makes it incredibly easy to figure out what you’d like to place a wager on but, if you want to peruse the markets first, ensure that you have plenty of time allotted. As we’re writing this, we’re noting more than 100 markets listed on each and every match scheduled for today.
If you’re someone who likes the idea of placing a bet but don’t consider yourself a sports fan, you’re in luck with Paddy Power as it’s known for creative novelty bets. Click the novelty area, and you’ll be impressed with another menu of different topics. Politics, Music, Hollywood, Current Affairs, TV Specials, Pageant and even the Weather are all included in this section.
Who is the next James Bond? Who will be the winner of Britain’s Got Talent? Who will be the next Labour Party leader? Who will be the next Pops?
You get the idea.
Paddy Power has the odds and the promotions that keep players coming back over and over again. Its focus on providing a better experience for its customers is successful, and it works due to its loyal players and the sheer betting volume.
We like the fun atmosphere this site strives to create for anyone who happens by its sportsbook or any of its gaming sites. Life is too short not to have fun, and Paddy does its best to integrate humor and unique promotional opportunities into its betting platforms. The money-back specials and all of the various daily value-add promotions that pop up out of the blue create a one-of-a-kind bookmaking operation.
When we talk about the actual money changing hands, we like that this sportsbook has such small profit margins on the sports that its bettors desire the most. Football with a 5.7% profit margin, tennis at 6.8%, and American Football at 4.3% should beat most competitors. Then, factor in the cashback specials and the value is top-notch.
The number of markets available for any given game or match is also worth a mention. This bookmaker likes to be creative, and it goes above and beyond to provide as many possible betting variations as it can come up with on an on-going basis.
Other huge benefits to sharp bettors and recreational bettors alike are the Pimp that Bet and Power Price options. For players willing to take a bit of time and do some research first, they can receive incredible value on these different specials that could substantially increase the bottom line of their winning ticket. These opportunities are not hidden either. They are prominently located. It’s as if Paddy Power wants them right in the face of their bettors so they can take advantage of the very best odds and specials with every bet they make.
We have a lot of good things to say, but we’ll close this section with excellent maximum payout opportunities. No, they’re not the highest, but they’re most assuredly not the lowest. £1 million on top-level football match betting, total goals, correct score, first goalscorer, Asian handicaps, and handicap betting is quite substantial. There are a few books that go up to £2 million, but they’re not prevalent.
We could go more in depth with some past decisions the company made such as the highly publicized Stoke City payout issue prompting them to issue a public apology through print advertising but, Paddy Power did make good on the bets and continued to move forward. They’ve also put forward some questionable advertising as we previously mentioned, but let’s talk about the sportsbook of today because it’s all about moving forward and what’s happening now.
There’s only one main suggestion that we want to mention in this section, and it’s regarding the live betting area and, don’t get us wrong, it is a decent area with benefit to its punters, but it could be bigger and better.
The in-play options are limited to Football, Tennis, Cricket, Golf, Basketball, Horse Racing, Handball, Cycling, and Motor Racing. It is a benefit to having live streaming available to customers, and Paddy Power does fairly well with it but, again, the options are not as plentiful as you may find on some international-focused books. At the time of their writing, there were 25 games offered for the day. Not too shabby, but always room for improvement.
We did say we would only focus on one thing, but we do need to make mention that there have been reported instances of some winners having their betting action restricted. These types of issues arise case by case, but it should be duly noted for high rollers looking for big action.
Volume + Best Odds = Head over to the Football area and place your bets!
Paddy Power is active when it comes to football betting and, it’s more about the markets than the number of matches. It’s not uncommon to have 100, 150 or even more markets for each competition and some of these include Power Price options.
Football comes with a hefty million pound payout limit for top-level games as well as a 5.7% profit margin. Punters betting on favorites are even at more of an advantage, and then factor in cashback specials offered on some of the bigger games, and you’ve got yourself a good bet.
Other games with a low book profit margin include:
The one sport you may want to choose to stake elsewhere is ice hockey. The odds are not as good, and the profit margin comes in above ten percent.
Paddy Power does have an extensive sports line-up. They also offer power pricing and enhanced daily specials. For players who do their research and are looking for the best deals, spending some time reviewing upcoming games and available specials will pay off with bigger returns.
Maximum payouts apply to each sport, so players need to be sure to adjust their bet suitably. On the flip side, the minimum bet is typically only 10p except for live racing that requires at least £1.00.
Soccer/Football – Senior Men’s only post qualification: Champions League, Europa League, World Cup and European Championship, Premier League, English Championship, League 1 & 2, Scottish Premier and League 1, German Bundesliga, French Ligue 1, and Spanish La Liga
Maximum Bet – £1,000,000 Applies to – match betting, total goals, correct score, first goalscorer, Asian handicaps, handicap betting
Maximum Bet – £100,000 Applies to – all other markets
Soccer/Football – all other football event types Maximum Bet – £50,000 Applies to – match betting, total goals, correct score, Asian handicaps, handicap betting
Tennis – Singles events only. Grand Slam Events Post Qualification, ATP Masters Series, WTA Tour Championship, ATP or WTA events post qualification with prize fund > £200,000 Maximum Bet – £200,000 Applies to – match betting, set betting
Maximum Bet – £50,000 Applies to – all other markets not listed
Tennis – all other tennis event types Maximum Bet – £25,000 Applies to – match betting
Maximum Bet – £1,000 Applies to – all other markets not listed
US Sports – NFL regular season and playoff matches, NHL, NBA, MLB post season matches Maximum Bet – £100,000 Applies to – handicap and match betting
Maximum Bet – £20,000 Applies to – all other markets
US Sports – all other MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL events Maximum Bet – £50,000 Applies to – handicap and match betting
Maximum Bet – £10,000 Applies to – all other markets not listed
Cricket – Test matches, limited over matches (i.e. matches where the number of overs are limited) between Test Nations, and IPL matches Maximum Bet – £250,000 Applies to – match betting
Maximum Bet – £25,000 Applies to – all other markets not listed
Cricket – all other Cricket event types Maximum Bet – £50,000 Applies to – match betting
Maximum Bet – £5,000 Applies to – all other markets not listed
Darts – (post qualification stages) PDC World Darts Championship, PDC Premier League Darts, PDC World Matchplay, PDC World Grand Prix, and Grand Slam of Darts Maximum Bet – £250,000 Applies to – match betting
Darts – all other darts event types Maximum Bet – £25,000 Applies to – match betting
GAA – Senior Men’s intercounty only, All Ireland Senior Football Championship, NFL Div 1 & 2, All Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, NHL Div 1, Senior men’s Club Hurling and Football All Ireland Finals Maximum Bet – £250,000 Applies to – match betting, outright betting, main handicap market
All other GAA event types Maximum Bet – £25,000 Applies to – match betting, outright betting, main handicap market
Golf – Official PGA/European Tour events with First Prize > £200,000 Maximum Bet – £500,000 Applies to – outright betting
Golf – all other golf events Maximum Bet – £50,000 Applies to – outright betting
Rugby – top level matches Maximum Bet – £250,000 Applies to – match betting, main handicap market, outright betting
Rugby – all other Rugby Union matches Maximum Bet – £25,000 Applies to – match betting, main handicap market
Snooker – Post Qualification only World Snooker Championship, the Masters and UK Championship Maximum Bet – £100,000 Applies to – match betting and outright betting
Snooker – all other Snooker events Maximum Bet – £25,000 Applies to – match betting
Other sports events not listed Maximum Bet – £50,000 Applies to – main markets
Non-sporting events – (politics, music, elections, TV, etc.) Maximum Bet – £20,000 Applies to – main markets
If you are someone who likes being entertained, someone who would rather read through website content that sprinkles in some humor, you will like this sportsbook straight away.
The huge selection of sports and markets, the constant bonus and promotional offers including money-back promotions, and the overall easy to navigate website provides for a top-notch betting platform that keeps players returning again and again. Whether you’re a recreational bettor or a sharp and experienced punter, you’ll something appealing about the brand.
Paddy Power’s promotions are part of the reason for its immense popularity. There are some standard bonuses like the sign-up offer, but they also provide a high number of free bets through money back, and loyalty offers.
The Welcome Bonus The sign-up offer is not in conjunction with the first deposit but does apply to the initial wager. As long as the first bet is £10 or more, the new player will receive £30 in free bets to use within the next 30 days.
We do need to note these welcome bonuses are only offered to UK and Ireland residents as long as PayPal or a card has been used for account funding. Skrill and Neteller deposits don’t apply.
Here are some other current money back specials but Paddy Power does add new refund and other promotional offers quite frequently.
Acca Insurance Offer – UK and Top European Football If one leg of the UK and top European Football leagues five-fold (or more) Win-Draw-Win acca is a loss, the player receives money back in the form of a free football bet.
NBA/NHL Acca Insurance Offer This acca insurance offer is the same as the UK and Top European Football offer
Weekly Tennis Loyalty Offer No loss is required to be a winner here. Players need to place 50 bets on tennis to get a free bet equaling the average stake.
2 UP – You win! Offer Paddy Power will pay players as winners straight up if their team goes two goals up at any stage in the game for all EPL, Champions League, Europa League La Liga and Championship Playoff Matches.
If a sportsbook offers a big enough menu to provide e-wallet, prepaid and other financial options that accommodate the majority of their customers and it puts this type of information front and center, it’s a-ok in our book.
Paddy Power doesn’t have the largest list of options but does offer enough to satisfy most and anyone considering a new registration can review all of the acceptable methods first. Players select their currency during the registration process so transactions can be conducted in Pound Sterling (GBP) or Euro (EUR).
Debit and Credit Cards Minimum Deposit – £5 Turnaround time – immediate
Bank Transfers Minimum Deposit – £5 Turnaround time – up to five business days
Neteller Minimum Deposit – £5 Turnaround time – 1-4 hours
PayPal Minimum Deposit – £5 Turnaround time – immediate Additional information – Paypal can only be used by residents of Austria, Finland, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Portugal, Sweden, and the United Kingdom
Paysafecard Minimum Deposit – £5 Turnaround time – immediate Additional information – Paysafecard can only be used by residents of Austria, Finland, Germany, Isle of Man, Italy, Norway, Sweden, The Channel Island, and the United Kingdom
Skrill (Moneybookers) Minimum Deposit – £5 Turnaround time – immediate
Cash Card – PPlus Minimum Deposit – £10 Turnaround time – immediate
PPlus is a card that can be purchased at one of their retail locations. It allows for quick and easy online account funding. Winnings can be cashed out as withdrawals at ATMs, and the card can also be used in the shops as well.
The same menu is in play for payouts and should match the deposit method originally selected except Paysafecard. If a deposit were made using a Paysafecard, a Bank Transfer would be used for the withdrawal.
Debit and Credit Cards Minimum Withdrawal – £10 Turnaround time – 2-3 business days (but could take up to five days)
Bank Transfers Minimum Withdrawal – £10 Turnaround time – up to five business days (UK GBP bank transfers made before 10:30 am can be processed as same-day transactions)
Neteller Minimum Withdrawal – £10 Turnaround time – 1-4 hours
PayPal Minimum Withdrawal – £10 Turnaround time – could take up to four hours Additional information – Paypal can only be used by residents of Austria, Finland, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Portugal, Sweden, and the United Kingdom
Skrill (Moneybookers) Minimum Withdrawal – £10 Turnaround time – up to four hours
Cash Card – PPlus Minimum Withdrawal – £10 Turnaround time – immediate
Customer service is always up for interpretation, but we have heard so many good and consistent comments about the courtesy extended the staff that we have to give it high marks. They are considered to be polite and knowledgeable and, really, what else could you ask for in customer service?
Customer Service Department:
By the way, if you’re someone who’d rather utilize social media to get some answers to your sports questions or just inquiries about the sports betting site in general, you can “ask Paddy Power” on Twitter at @askpaddypower.
There’s more than just sports betting. Paddypower.com also has a casino plus a small live casino area as well as poker and bingo rooms.
The casino has an A-Z directory of all of the available games, but it’s also arranged so favorites can be easily located.
More than 100 slot games can be found in the casino, and some of the jackpot versions can even put slot players in the running for over a million pounds. The themes are familiar, well-known, and fun and Paddy Power even notes five games as “beginner games,” a bit odd for slots, but interesting none the less.
Branded games attract attention as they’re recognizable and topical:
Jackpot games are equally as well known and have the added element of big money potential for players that are willing to place maximum bets. All prize amounts are listed in Euro.
If slot play isn’t your thing, Paddy Power’s casino also includes Video Poker, Table Games, and even a 16-game Roulette area.
Newar, Video, and Premiere French Roulette are just a few of the options as well as Age of the Gods Roulette currently posting a 626K jackpot as well.
Nine Blackjack games include Pontoon, Perfect, and Double Attack, and miscellaneous other table games are diverse and combine some mainstream games with others that are a bit harder to find within online casinos. Sic Bo, Hi-Lo Premium, Tequila Poker, Red Dog, and Stravaganza plus 13 other tables round out the variations.
A dozen Video Poker games such as ten-line Jacks or Better, four-line Aces and Faces, 10s or Better, and Pick ‘em Poker elevate these types of games beyond the traditional bonus or wild card options and, believe it or not, Rocky, Spamalot, Kong, and Love Match are scratch off selections.
Paddy Power’s casino players not only have their welcome bonus with a £500 maximum but can also be a part of the rewards and VIP program. Traditional and random Blackjack bonuses and other game-specific offers provide extra value similar to the sportsbook.
The live casino is a more recent addition to paddypower.com and is a small four-game room but does offer it’s own 100% match welcome bonus of up to £100. Baccarat, Blackjack, Casino Hold ‘em, and Roulette provide the live dealer action and Baccarat, and Blackjack limits are as high as £10,000.
The prominent leaderboard shows some notable wins, the last we viewed was over £20,000. At £10,000 a hand, that may not be as impressive, but for regular players, it would be quite exciting to win that much in one sitting.
The general term “games” applies to an assortment of pretty much anything and everything from slots to blackjack to Deal or No Deal. Jackpot games are prevalent in this area. The Cleopatra Mega Jackpot is currently listed at a half million for its top prize, and Little Red Riding Hood is over £600,000.
The games area does offer daily jackpots, its own bonuses, Macau, table and other card games, and an all-encompassing casino experience in just one area of paddypower.com.
Not to be outdone by the games area, Bingo also has its own promotions and has recently undergone a makeover. Players can enjoy a newly designed Bingo experience that also includes slots and scratch cards, or for the loyal players who aren’t ready for change, they can opt for the traditional bingo experience.
You’re probably not surprised, but the main feature of PaddyPower’s poker room is the bonus program. Bonuses are king, and new players are even treated to its “Month of Free Poker” offer through £200 in combined bonuses as long as enough power points are accumulated. Other deposit bonuses are offered as well as No Lose Tournament Tokens, Twister Bonuses, and so much more.
New poker players can pull up a chair and play a few hands knowing that they have bonus after bonus to take advantage of and lessen their initial investment.
Paddy Power also has a Virtuals area listed in the main menu with near round-the-clock virtual sports action. Horse racing, Tennis, Football, Motor Sports, Cycling, and Greyhounds are featured with “next up” information making it easy to get in on the action.
Virtual sports all have a maximum payout of £20,000 imposed and virtual greyhounds additionally note a maximum combined winning day-total of £50,000 per player.
Although horse racing is in the sportsbook, it technically is an area all of its own. Paddy Power offers a “Best Price Guarantee” on all of its Irish and UK racing and provides for racing-only bonuses for its bettors in this area. Are you surprised? Just one current promotion pays an extra place (four places for each-way bets at 1/5 odds) on two races at select tracks.
Lotteries are housed in the Bingo area but also have their dedicated menu link for players who enjoy being a part of worldwide lottery action. There are several games per day from Ireland, Spain, Germany, and the US and players can bet up to five weeks in advance on the full site or their mobile devices.
You might be able to tell that we do have an affinity for this website as we like its ownership’s approach to business and they do a lot of things right. It’s more of a volume mentality where big discounts can be passed along to customers simply by having more constant activity.
So, if we compare this bookie’s odds to its competitors, it’s going to come out on top. This is an Irish bookmaker that leans heavily on UK sports, so football is the focus and a 106% margin compared to the standard 109 or 110% found elsewhere is significant.
The sports menu is also above par and includes some things like weightlifting and show jumping that are harder to find. The degree of markets offered by the event is also first-rate and hard to beat.
As far as being a bookie for punters looking for the biggest action, Paddy Power is competitive but not the best. £2 million football payouts on bet365 or William Hill edge it out, but Paddy Power is higher than many others that top out at £500,000 compared to its £1 million.
Financially, Paddy Power puts forth an average menu for deposits and withdrawals and is certainly not the best for its list of options, but it does offer some real e-wallet solutions and the turnaround time for receiving those anticipated winnings is more than satisfactory. In fact, it’s one of the fastest books for turning payouts around.
Bonuses are just top-notch. You will be able to find higher welcome bonuses elsewhere, but it puts its focus more on money-back specials and favorable odds on select matches, so we feel these types of offers provide even more value than a one-time match bonus.
The rest of the website with its poker room, casino, bingo halls, and other games areas round out an overall quality gambling site. There are a few others, such as Unibet, that provide more casino games, but that doesn’t significantly affect the impression of the overall product.
It can be quite monotonous looking at similar sportsbooks and sifting through lines of stats. There certainly are experienced bettors who want to get right to the heart of the action and disregard anything else, but we feel that the entertaining atmosphere that the team strives to project just works. Period.
We said earlier, love it or hate it, but this online sportsbook garners attention for daring to be different. It tries new things to captivate new audiences, and that creativity is appreciated.
Taking chances with their advertising and marketing as well as implementing their innovative promotional programs has not impacted the overall quality of this sportsbook. It is top-notch in the variety and quantity of betting opportunities that are consistently available to its clientele. The website is easy to use, all of the value-add options are front and center. It’s obvious this site wants its customers to feel that they should only go to one sportsbook for all of their betting activity.
