Paddy Power Enters the World of Online Poker

Ireland's biggest bookmaker, Paddy Power, will launch this week a suite of online poker games to take advantage of on one of the most lucrative areas of internet betting...

The bookmaker preparing the launch of Paddy Power Poker, will involve an initial 200 players who have been pre-registered. According to the estimations of analysts, about £100m (€143m) a year is bet on online poker in the UK alone. The company’s main targets are Irish and British players but the games will also be open to residents of some other European countries.

Paddy Power will be acting as a facilitator for players, and offering them the chance to play live over the internet with players hosted by other sites. This is a no-risk betting for the bookmaker, which will normally earn about 2% of each pot.