Paddy Power Boosted by Online Move

DUBLIN, Ireland -- As reported by the Manchester Online: "Irish bookmaker Paddy Power today said its move into online gambling had proved a winner as it revealed a 58 per cent hike in annual profits.

"The betting company said its move into activities such as an internet casino and mobile phone games helped reduce its reliance on the more volatile sports betting business.

"However, a late run of sporting results in favour of punters meant record pre-tax profits of 32.1 million euros (£22.2m) were still at the lower end of analysts' forecasts.

"The online division delivered an "outstanding" performance in the year to December 31, contributing 8.8 million euros (£6.1m) in operating profits..."