Paddy Power hails online growth

The Dublin-based company has 209 shops in the UK but almost three-quarters of its 139.2 million euros (£120.3m) in profits came online, having doubled its number of active customers to 1.6 million since 2010.

Much of the growth is due to betting through smartphones and tablet computers after mobile revenues increased by 185 per cent last year.

Online profits grew eight per cent to 102.1 million euros (£88.2m) in 2012 - or by 27 per cent before investment in four new ventures - although UK retail profits also continued to grow strongly, up 46 per cent to 15.3 million euros (£13.2m).

It pointed out that only nine per cent of the 333 billion euros (£287.8m) global gambling market was currently online.

Paddy Power opened 44 new shops in the year but excluding the additional outlets betting volumes were still up 11% on a year earlier. The average gross win per gaming machine per week was in line with 2011 at £1,210.

Last week, London’s Newham Council rejected an application for a new shop because it said it flouted the 2005 Gambling Act on the grounds that it would make more money from gaming machines than from traditional betting.

Betting shops and casinos are allowed to offer machines which takes stakes of up to £100 and pay prizes of up to £500 and Paddy Power said it looked forward to the results of the Responsible Gambling Trust’s major research project into machine gaming.

The company added that trading in January and February had been strong, helped by favourable sporting results. However it warned that the weakening pound against the euro could reduce operating profits by around 10 million euros (£8.6m) this year.