Bookmaker Paddy Power has announced that it will create up to 250 new jobs at its headquarters in Tallaght in West Dublin over the next three years.
Paddy Power, which already employs 640 people in Dublin, says the new jobs form part of its strategy of international expansion into the online sports betting market.
The company is to recruit 50 people with technology and other skills by next summer resulting from a deal with a French betting company. It says the remainder of the jobs will be generated over the next three years.
Paddy Power says it is lending its bet pricing and risk expertise to the French state controlled horse racing betting system, called PMU, for a five-year period from next year.
PMU is Europe's largest betting organisation with €9.3 billion of sales in 2008 generated through 10,000 retail outlets. This morning PMU says it plans to become an online player for sports betting.
This is an enormous opportunity for Paddy Power and will make the company a significant exporter of services from its Tallaght base.
Paddy Power is already the largest online bookmaker in the UK and it has also grown strongly in Australia over the last year through the acquisition of 51% of Sportsbet in May. CEO Patrick Kennedy said Paddy Power was looking for more overseas opportunities.
Global online betting has an estimated current turnover of €50 billion and that is set to double in the coming years.
All of the 250 jobs to come on stream in Tallaght will be for people with graduate skills in areas like IT and e-commerce.
Firm confident of meeting earnings forecasts
The bookie chain also issued an interim management statement for the trading period from July to November 10 this morning.
This says that Paddy Power is confident of meeting market forecasts for earnings per share of about 113 cent for 2009 - depending on the impact of sporting results for the rest of the year.
It said that turnover had grown strongly over the 19 week period, helped by greater customer winnings this year, the high level of race cancellations in August and September of last year and continued market share growth.
It said that while sporting results overall were adverse, all channels experienced gross win percentages above their expected ranges since the start of October.
Paddy Power said that the amounts stakes in its Irish and UK non-retail and retail sportsbook grew strongly by 24% and 11% respectively. Retail growth has also been helped by the firm's UK expansion and Irish market share growth.
In Australia, the purchases of Sportsbet and IAS closed in July and October respectively. Paddy Power says that while September saw adverse sporting results, the integration of the two businesses is progressing well. It noted that since July, the number of Sportsbet active customers has grown by over 100% year on year.
Shares in Paddy Power closed €2.10 or 9.4% higher at €24.40 in Dublin.
