Paddy Power Makes Waves In Italian Online Gambling Market

Paddy Power Makes Waves In Italian Online Gambling Market

Published Sunday, July 15, 2012 - Online-Casinos.com

Paddy Power has been entering markets that were considered in the past to be difficult to penetrate but has been successful and continues with the bold approach it is well known for. This year’s most wagered upon sporting event the Euro 2012 Football Tournament was a big upset for some of Europe’s top sports books but Paddy Power seems to have come out from the wagering wilderness with few worries.

The tournament allowed the Irish bookie to gain a footing in the Italian online betting market last month. Other Italian facing book makers such as Lottomatica, Sisal, and Snai were not able to capitalize fully on the tournament. Paddy Power on the other hand were fresh and became the alternative to the others during the event in the Italian market.

A press release through Reuters had Paddy Power communications chief Alessandro Allara saying that the opportunity for Paddy Power to become a player in the Italian betting market is in the online market. “Our opportunity is dramatically bigger online because those companies are not using their power in retail to reinforce their positions online, or they are not interested in it,”

Allara explained, “The three biggest Italian companies have 80 percent of the retail market but only 40 percent of the online market,” This has prompted Paddy Power to forgo the retail end of things and concentrate on the Italian online gambling market. A recent interview with Reuters News Agency quoted Giovanna D’Esposito, Paddy Power’s managing director in Italy, as saying, ”Over a two-year horizon we hope to have a top five position in the online market, but I think we can do better than that,” He is confident that the 4.2% share will increase to 6% by the end of the year and to hit at least 10% in two