PADDY Power is considering the launch of a new casino in Ireland as well as the introduction of gaming websites in Italy, Spain and Poland, the company revealed yesterday.
The move into continental Europe comes as European governments come under pressure to open their gambling industries to foreign companies.
Dublin-based Paddy Power, which operates mainly in Ireland and the UK, is seeking potential new markets after starting a German-language website in April, chief executive officer Patrick Kennedy said.
"We are looking at the possibility of introducing other European-language websites," Mr Kennedy said. "The ones we've looked at in the last three or six months have been Spain and Poland."
The company is also considering moving into Italy and may have a presence there within three years, he said.
The European Union this month told France, Italy and Austria to open up gambling to foreign companies in a bid to boost competition in the 25-nation bloc.
Italy is already in the midst of opening up its gaming industry to private organisations by licensing more sports betting and horse racing shops and so-called 'remote gaming' by internet and telephone.
Licences
Paddy Power's plans will depend on the type of licences available in each country, Kennedy said. "Obviously in an ideal world we would love to offer poker games, casino, bingo and the sports book in as many of those geographies as we could."
Online gambling companies such as 888 Holdings plc and PartyGaming plc want to expand in Europe after laws were passed in the US this month aimed at shutting down internet gaming.
Paddy Power has never accepted bets from customers in the US.
The bookmaker, whose websites offer games, such as poker and blackjack, is considering opening its own casinos after the Irish government in July said it would regulate the industry.
The Government had earlier threatened to shut the country's casinos, which currently operate as private clubs to bypass a 50-year ban.
"I would be reasonably certain that we would try and get a licence, that we would be trying to get involved in some way," Kennedy said. Paddy Power would consider submitting a bid on its own or as part of a joint venture, he said.
The company, whose British betting shops are all within London's M25 ring road, may eventually open sites in another UK city, Kennedy said,though this is in the "early stages".
source : www.Unison.ie
