Paddy Power make positive strides forward in Italian online betting market

Positive start for Paddy Power after Italy's strong Euro 2012 run

PaddyPower
PaddyPower

Online bookmaker Paddy Power made a big impact in their Italian market during Euro 2012, thanks to Italy making it all the way to the finals of the tournament. The Irish bookmaker said that they made positive strides in Italy’s online betting market back in June. It was great timing for Paddy Power, who launched their online service in Italy back in May, after being attracted to the country because of high projected growth. Paddy Power, Europe’s biggest bookmaker with the gambling industry forecasts in the country expected to shoot up a good 12%, and Paddy Power want their part of that.

The bookie has done a tremendous job of gaining a major holding in online betting in Britain and Ireland and now they are prepared to stretch their wealth across continental Europe. With some expertly timed exposure in Italy before the start of Euro 2012, Paddy Power were able to make a dent into the share on online bets taken by Italian local operators Lottomatic, Sisal and Snai. It doesn’t look as if it was that hard for Paddy Power to make an impact there, because online betting in Italy is still somewhat in its infancy, with the established players there already being slow to initiate and attract punters across to the format.

The three aforementioned Italian bookies together own a good 80% share of the betting sector, but they only have 40% of the online market. So there is a tremendous window of opportunity for Paddy Power to exploit, not only online but through mobile devices as well, which is really because an integral part of online bookmakers’ profits. During its first month in Italy, online bookmaker Paddy Power took in 3.6 million Euros worth of bets, breaking a good 4% of the online market already in that short period. The projections from Paddy Power should see them grow to 10% by 2014, making the Italian branch of Paddy Power profitable in 2-3 years.