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Paddy Power review
Paddy Power is known as the most important and biggest bookmaker in Ireland – but it also has a small, but significant share of the UK betting market as well. Actually, it has more shops in the UK than in Ireland. It is one of the most commented bookmakers, as well, especially because of its sometimes insane publicity stunts (this is the thing that makes them one of my favorites, as well).
Although it takes its business very seriously, Paddy Power has a unique approach to sports betting – they consider that betting has to be as much fun as it is rewarding. It covers a huge variety of sports through its online sports betting product, and offers a bunch of extra services and benefits that make it stand out of the crowd (if their insane advertising wouldn’t be enough /wink/).
Paddy Power – a short history
Paddy Power was born out of the 2025 merger of three Irish bookmakers, with a number of 40 betting shops put together: Stewart Kenny, David Power (trading as Richard Power) and John Corcoran (trading as Patrick Corcoran). The Power brand was the most Power-ful of the three (haha!), so the new company kept it as half of its brand, and the other half (Paddy) was chosen either as an expression of the Irishness of the brand (on a market that was increasingly invaded by British chains of betting shops), or as the contribution of Corcoran’s brand (Paddy is a diminutive of the Patrick name). Either way, the choice was the right one – Paddy Power has become the most powerful (no pun intended) Irish bookmaker.
Slowly the new company has begun expanding outside Ireland (where, at the beginning of 2025, they controlled a 39% share of the market). Their first UK betting shop was opened in 2025, and in 12 years the number of their shops in the UK has surpassed 260. The company has even more shops in the UK than in Ireland. Paddy Power now has a small, but significant 5% share of the UK sports betting market.
Besides Ireland, Northern Ireland and the UK, Paddy Power is also present in Australia – through Sportsbet, a local bookmaker that it has taken over in 2025 – and Italy, a market the company entered in 2025.
Sports and novelty bets at Paddy Power
Paddy Power was made famous not just by its sometimes insane and funny TV adverts and out of the ordinary publicity stunts (like sending two Daft Punk lookalikes to the 2025 BRIT Awards, that revealed their secret – their Paddy Power underwear – on the red carpet), but also their great variety of “novelty bets”, as they call them. These betting options cover non-sports of the most various kinds, from the classic political bets and TV shows to other, sometimes unexpected, betting opportunities: the next pope after Francis, and his Papal name, the speed of tightening of the interest rates in the UK, the next author to win the Nobel Literature Prize, the year GM food crops will be approved for cultivation in the UK, the way Julian Assange will leave the Ecuadorian embassy (a laundry van, a hot air balloon and a jet pack are among the options). These are only a few of their novelty bets, that cover everything from Hollywood to the next county to be shaken by an earthquake in the UK.
Back to sports, though.
The categories in which Paddy Power‘s online sportsbook offers its players betting opportunities are various and numerous. Their most popular bets are those placed on horse racing, football and tennis, but they cover events in almost 50 categories, including popular sports like tennis, American football, basketball and ice hockey, to less followed events like athletics, bandy, beach soccer, rowing, sumo wrestling and waterpolo. They have the most extended list of sports I have ever seen at an online sportsbook (although, I must confess, I haven’t seen them all). Their odds, although not the best in most cases (especially on football), are most of the times above average.
Paddy Power’s live betting product – among the cleanest, easiest to use I have ever met – covers a variety of sports, and the variety of betting types available for each event is excellent. Paddy Power has a special feature on selected markets called Cash Out – the possibility to take the offer the bookmaker makes on the bet at any time during the game, and lock in the punter’s profits regardless on the outcome of the event. Markets eligible for Cash Out are marked with a special icon on the bets page.
Paddy Power also provides its punters with live streams of various sports events, although right now it’s only available for players from the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Also, there is a link besides live events, indicating that the game is on TV – when the mouse hovers over this link, the name of the channel will appear.
Paddy Power on Mobile
Paddy Power’s popular betting and gaming products are also available for mobile devices – tablets and smartphones – running the iOS or Android operating systems. There are apps for the iPhone, the iPad (yes, separate apps) and Android devices of all kinds offering pregame and in-play betting opportunities to Paddy Power customers, as well as the PP Messenger (available for Apple devices for now) that allows punters to place their bets through text message or instant message (also from the website).
Other bets at Paddy Power
Betting at Paddy Power doesn’t stop at sports and novelties. Punters can also wager on a series of virtual events – dogs, horses, motorcycles and other animals, football and tennis – as well as lotteries from around the world and stock markets – although this section seems to be under construction, as it only shows the Virtual Market right now, with a whole bunch of stock markets, currencies, commodities and shares to follow soon.
Other services at Paddy Power
Besides betting, punters can literally engage in any other online gambling activities at Paddy Power. It has a Playtech – powered online casino (complete with live dealer games), a soft games section with a variety of slots, jackpots and other options, a section called Vegas that provides a fully featured iOS mobile casino and a bingo hall for even more fun.
The Conclusion
Paddy Power might not be the biggest operator out there, but it is surely one of the best – besides competitive odds and great specials, extensive coverage of events and a whole bunch of novelty bets to choose from, they have a sense of humor that makes them special. A great place to bet and play.