Canadian Gambling Market Welcomes Paddy Power
Irish online sports betting and gambling giant, Paddy Power, will enter the North American gambling market from next summer, after signing a lucrative three year deal with Canada's British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC).
The deal will see Paddy Power supply product, pricing and risk management services to the BCLC's online sports betting platform, and is the Irish gaming group's first partnership with a lottery company.
"This is our first transaction in North America; a geography which will be of increasing strategic importance to us in the future," said the Chief Executive Operator of Paddy Power, Patrick Kennedy.
"Today's announcement is a further endorsement of our product and partnership capabilities," he added, saying that as the online market continues to regulate, these qualities continue to position Paddy Power strongly for future international expansion.
It was recently reported that Paddy Power applied to the Nevada
Gaming Commission for an operating license earlier this year, a process which
has not yet been completed, as its application will only be approved next year.
Paddy Power's entry into the Canadian market is seen as an extension of
these objectives to become active in the North American market.
Currently the BCLC is the only operator in the province which is allowed offer sports betting services. The deal with Paddy Power was approved by the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch of BC.
Paddy Power to Supply PlayNow.com
The new Paddy Power products will be made available to Canadian players through the BCLC's popular online sports betting site, PlayNow.com.
The Vice President of eGaming for the lottery corporation, Rhonda Garvey said: "We are very excited about our partnership with Paddy Power and the opportunities it will bring to PlayNow.com. Paddy Power's proven expertise and product integration with the PlayNow.com/OpenBet system is essential to providing our players with an unparalleled online sports betting experience."
Paddy Power, which was founded in 1988, is considered one of Europe's most active and profit-generating gambling groups. The group, with its headquarters in Ireland, sees over three quarters of its profits generated from online gambling.
Paddy Power, which is a publicly listed company on both the Irish and London stock exchanges, prides itself on operating in regulated jurisdictions only.
In other Paddy Power news, one of the firm's non-executive directors, Fintan Drury, recently retired from the board. Drury, who was formerly the chairman of the group, had been active on the board for nine years.
