Irish gambling company Paddy Power is set to close several shops in the country, local media outlets announced. According to the reports, the operator will be shutting down a total of 21 of its retail locations across Ireland.

The company plans to close the venues in question because of their failure to perform well enough. This move would leave the company with 230 shops in the country.

The reports say that Paddy Power would offer redeployment to many of the workers who will be affected by the closures. However, the company also confirmed that it will have to lay off some employees.

In a statement, Flutter Entertainment, Paddy Power’s ownership group, confirmed the move and said that it will try to redeploy as many of its employees as possible and offer them jobs in close proximity to their existing employment.

Despite that, the company is unlikely to be able to redeploy everyone and will instead offer support to employees it has to part ways with.

However, the closures will unfortunately lead to a small number of job losses. We are consulting closely with colleagues and providing support to those affected by these changes.

Flutter statement

Paddy Power Promised to Support the Affected People

Paddy Power’s chief commercial officer, David Newton, also commented on the matter. He attributed the closures to a recent review of Paddy Power’s estate and the company’s desire to operate efficiently and meet the evolving needs of its customers.

The latest review pointed out some redundancies Paddy Power will now proceed to eliminate. According to Newton, the 21 shops the company is closing are underperforming and don’t benefit the company’s business.

Indeed, a well-invested retail estate remains a key component of our omnichannel strategy. Whilst the majority of our estate continues to perform well and is growing market share, we have decided to close a number of underperforming shops.

David Newton, CCO, Paddy Power

Newton concluded that the decision to close these shops is in no way related to the work of Paddy Power’s employees there. He thanked his “hard-working shop colleagues” for their professionalism and promised that the company would provide the needed support to anyone who is affected by the changes.

The post Paddy Power to Close 21 Shops, Promises to Support Affected Employees   appeared first on Keno Wizard.

Irish gambling operator Paddy Power will be the official sponsor of the upcoming PDC World Darts Championship. The company jokingly promised its customers a room full of “of bleary-eyed revelers, raucous singing and ill-fitting and even more ill-judged attire.”

Describing the sponsorship deal as a “match made in heaven,” Paddy Power expressed its excitement about supporting the darts event. The company noted that the competition will kick off at the legendary Alexandra Palace in London on December 15 and will run through to the final on January 3, 2024.

Paddy Power solemnly invited everyone to the event, reminding fans to secure a Paddy Power World Darts Championship ticket in advance so they can be safe knowing that they’ve secured a place “at the best Dartsmas ever.”

Paddy Power celebrated the occasion with a humorous video featuring a number of world-class darts players, such as Dimitri Van Den Bergh, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith, Michael Van Gerwen and Peter Wright.

A Match Made In Heaven

Paddy Power’s marketing & brand director, Michelle Spillane, addressed the new deal, saying that her company has “hit the bullseye” with this new deal.

This tournament is the ultimate example of sport colliding with entertainment, a mix we at Paddy Power are naturally drawn towards.

Michelle Spillane, marketing & brand director, Paddy Power

Spillane added that her team is very excited about the partnership with the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace and believes that it will be very beneficial to the company.

Matt Porter, the chief executive officer of the PDC, also commented on the agreement, welcoming Paddy Power as the new title sponsor of the upcoming World Darts Championship. He lauded the operator for its unique way of announcing the agreement and praised the operator’s collaboration with major darts players.

The World Darts Championship is the flagship event in our sport, and Paddy Power’s involvement will add extra excitement to an event which is already the highlight of the festive sporting period.

Matt Porter, CEO, PDC

In other news, Paddy Power continues to make headlines thanks to its deals with major companies in the gambling sector. The operator recently signed a milestone deal with Stakelogic, adopting cutting-edge content from the supplier.

Earlier, the operator extended its virtual sports agreement with Inspired Entertainment. As a result, Paddy Power will continue to benefit from the provider’s Virtual Sports solution.

In other news, Paddy Power recently landed itself in hot water because of an alleged marketing violation.

The post Paddy Power to Sponsor the PDC World Darts Championship appeared first on Keno Wizard.

UK’s gambling regulator, the Gambling Commission, constantly monitors the market in the country to ensure that licensees adhere to the established framework and that consumers are protected. In case any breaches are uncovered, the gambling regulator imposes sanctions which can be monetary or in severe cases, suspends or revokes licenses.

On Thursday, the Commission unveiled that it uncovered a social responsibility breach by an operator, which resulted in a fine. The gambling watchdog said that an investigation into PPB Counterparty Services Limited, trading as Paddy Power and Betfair, uncovered breaches of social responsibility. Describing the breaches, the Commission claimed that the company sent promotional notifications to customers that have previously self-excluded from gambling activities.

Under the current gambling regulations, licensed operators must adhere to self-exclusion, which means that they need to take all necessary steps to ensure that such individuals do not receive marketing offers. Once a person self-excludes from gambling, gambling businesses need to take action within two days and ensure that this person doesn’t receive any further marketing communication.

The Commission said that the social responsibility breaches date back to November 21, 2021, when the “operator’s app distributed an offer of enhanced odds for bets on an English Premier League football match to devices either linked to accounts that were GAMSTOP registered or devices linked to accounts that were self-excluded with the Licensee.” Due to the aforementioned breaches, the regulator imposed a £490,000 ($606,300) fine against PPB Counterparty Services Limited.

The Commission Continues to Monitor Gambling Activities

Details about the fine come after recently, the gambling watchdog imposed a $380,000 financial penalty against SkillOnNet. At the time, the Commission said that it uncovered breaches related to safer gambling and anti-money laundering regulations.

“Although there is no evidence the marketing was intentional, nor that all the people with apps saw the notification or that self-excluded customers were allowed to gamble, we take such breaches seriously.“

Kay Roberts, executive director of operations at the Gambling Commission

Addressing the latest fine, the Commission’s executive director of operations, Kay Roberts, acknowledged that no evidence supports that the breach was intentional. Additionally, she said that it is unclear whether or not the self-excluded people have seen the push notifications.

Yet, Roberts stressed that the Commission takes breaches of the regulations seriously. Finally, the executive director urged operators to ensure that their systems comply with the established framework regarding self-exclusion in an effort to protect such consumers.

The post UKGC Fines Paddy Power and Betfair $600K over Marketing Breaches appeared first on Keno Wizard.

Content, technology, hardware and services provider for the gaming industry, Inspired Entertainment, announced today that its partnership with Irish bookmaker Paddy Power has been extended.

The Best Possible Retail Betting Shop Experience

The new long-term contract signed between Inspired Entertainment and Paddy Power will see the B2B provider continue to deliver to the Flutter Entertainment-owned sports betting and gaming brand its Virtual Sports solution.

Vince Bateson, head of retail gaming at Paddy Power, commented on the new contract, pleased that the existing partnership for Virtual Sports products across Paddy Power’s retail betting shops in the UK and Ireland would continue.

Our customers enjoy Virtual products and our ongoing partnership with the Inspired team ensures we continue to provide the best possible experience in our retail shops.

Vince Bateson, head of retail gaming, Paddy Power

Paddy Power initially teamed up with Inspired Entertainment at the end of 2022 in an exclusive agreement under which the B2B gaming supplier agreed to provide its fully integrated managed services for Paddy Power’s entire UK retail estate, install approximately 1,400 terminals and provide remote and field tech support, content and platform deployment.

Currently, Paddy Power owns and operates over 600 retail betting shops in the UK and Ireland as the brand is one of the central in the UK brand portfolio of the London Stock Exchange (LSE)-listed sports betting, gaming and entertainment provider, Flutter Entertainment.

Continue to Support Their Retail Venues

On behalf of Inspired Entertainment, the president and chief executive officer, Brooks Pierce, commented on the extended agreement with the bookmaker, thrilled to continue “supporting their retail venues across the UK and Ireland,” much like the way the company has been doing so for the past 12 years.

We will continue to provide Paddy Power with our latest products and technology giving them the advantage of our leading content for their Virtual Sports offerings.

Brooks Pierce, CEO, Inspired Entertainment

The duration of the new contract has not been revealed by the partners but the renewed arrangement guarantees that the entire Paddy Power retail estate in the UK and Ireland to continue to benefit from Inspired’s products and solutions.

The renewed partnership with Paddy Power is the latest in a series of recent developments for Nasdaq-listed Inspired Entertainment as the gaming supplier was active on both sides of the Atlantic.

In the US, Inspired partnered for premium gaming content with FanDuel in Michigan and teamed with Aristocrat Gaming to deliver Virtual Sports for the NFL, and signed an agreement for the deployment of technology for Codere.

Inspired also strengthened its existing relationship with bet365 to launch a new virtual product and introduced new virtual products focused on CS: GO in collaboration with GRID.

The post Inspired Extends Virtual Sports Partnership with Paddy Power appeared first on Keno Wizard.

About a week ago, Paddy Power released a new advert for Tottenham Hotspur. The ad is called The Spurs Fan Centre and makes fun of the team’s suboptimal performance and lack of notable achievements.

Miserable Time to Be a Spurs Fan

In its ad, Paddy Power showcases an employee walking the viewers around a fictional “Spurs Fan Center.” The center is almost entirely focused on Arsenal and their bad plays, the employee explained, as it would be “a pretty short experience” if the whole center was dedicated to Spurs’ achievements.

The only room that is dedicated to Tottenham Hotspur seems to be the restroom where photos of the team’s few achievements can be seen. In addition, the club has a dedicated VR room where Spurts fans can don a headset to hide their tears.

However, not everyone was amused.

The Advert Allegedly Mocked People with Autism

According to Level Playing Field, a charity that promotes inclusivity for disabled sports enthusiasts, claims that the ad indirectly makes fun of autistic people. The charity spoke with The Athletic on the matter and explained that the ad essentially refers to the fan center as a “Spurts Sensory Center.”  

This may refer to the sensory rooms each Premier League club has. These rooms are essentially where people with autism and other difficulties can enjoy matches. Level Playing Field felt that the ad makes fun of these people with special needs.

The charity noted that the decision to call the fictional club a “sensory center” might just have been poor wording but is seriously undermining the message of the advert regardless.

Level Playing Field’s sentiment was echoed by the National Autistic Society, which believes that Paddy Power’s Tottenham Hotspur ad is nothing more than a “cheap jibe.”

Sensory rooms are not a punchline — they’re an important way to support autistic people and their families to attend big sporting events, like football matches. Without that safe and calming space, they might find the noise and large crowds completely overwhelming.

Tim Nicholls, head of influencing and research, National Autistic Society

Nicholls noted that the efforts to make sports accessible to autistic people should not be made fun of. He added that the National Autistic Society wants a world where everyone can enjoy soccer.

As of the time of this writing, Paddy Power’s controversial The Spurs Fan Centre advert has been taken down from most platforms. However, it is still available on YouTube.

The post Charities Unamused by Paddy Power‘s Recent Ad appeared first on Keno Wizard.