This story is sponsored by Paddy PowerPaddy Power has launched fixed odds and in-play sports betting in Italy, it announced this morning.
The Irish operator informed shareholders its dot.it platform had gone live at its AGM in Dublin this morning, where it unveiled impressive 28% and 37% revenue growth in its PaddyPower.com and Australian Sportsbet online divisions since the turn of the year.
Growth in active customers and the mobile channel - including tablets such as the iPad - provided the main drivers to the company’s stellar online performance from 1 January to 15 May 2012. Revenue from mobile was up a massive 241% year-on-year in 2012, accounting for 38% of online sportsbook turnover in PaddyPower.com, that includes the UK and Ireland. Active customers placing bets online were up 41% in its PaddyPower.com business and 30% down under.
Chairman Nigel Northridge said: “The Group’s strong momentum has continued into 2012, supported by substantial ongoing investment.” He added that it was now investing at an increased rate to capitalise on this momentum and the “substantial opportuntiies that exist in online betting.”
In addition to Italy, the company is expected to make heavy marketing investments in the highly taxed Spanish online gambling market, where its licence is expected to be confirmed next month. Slot games, used by online betting operators to mitigate risk in the sportsbook, and bingo, have also not been included in the regulation.
Paddy Power’s stellar onlne performance in combination with robust 13% and 15% revenue growth from its UK and Irish retail divisions saw overall group revenue up by 28% in the year to 15 May.
In addition to consumer-facing websites in Europe and Australia, the operator also provides B2B pricing and risk management services to former French horse racing monopoly PMU, and also provides a similar service in Canada on behalf of the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, for which its sportsbook platform provider OpenBet supplies online casino.
