Paddy Power Review

Irish betting providers Paddy Power have been on the scene since 1988 when Stewart Kenny, David Power and John Corcoran merged their 40 betting shops under the new brand name. The company quickly expanded and by 2010 had nearly 400 physical outlets across the UK.

In their early days, they were known for their superb telephone betting service, which at the time was the largest in Ireland. They later branched into online gambling where their innovative and controversial marketing campaigns have helped to raise their profile even further.

In 2016, they acquired arch rival Betfair to become one of the three largest players in the UK market. Paddy Power currently operate on a license issued by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA).

Betting Choice

Paddy Power have long been known for their novelty bets, innovative marketing tricks and controversial advertising campaigns. But behind the scenes, they have combined this with technical excellence and superb user interface development.

Online streaming has become one of the must-have features of all the top bookies and Paddy Power has even incorporated this into their mobile apps so clients can watch thousands of events across a range of sports including horse racing, football and tennis from wherever they happen to be.

Paddy Power offers fair to good odds across the board with best prices guaranteed on many United Kingdom and Irish horse races. These price usually benefit from an enhanced boost as well. All qualifying races are marked with the GP symbol.

As with most big hitters, Paddy Power now offers a Cash Out facility that allows punters to all or part of their return before an event has finished. This can be used to take a profit or even to minimise a loss depending on how game or race is going at the time.

The basic Paddy Power sportsbook offers in excess of 40 different markets with all the major sports covered plus many niche ones including rowing, table tennis, sailing, e-sports and weightlifting. If you can’t find a bet elsewhere, the chances are you will find it on Paddy Power and if they still do not have a bet you are looking for just get in touch with them and the chances are they will create a market for you. As well as sports betting, Paddy Power offers an unusual mix of novelty betting options from the worlds of politics, show business and beyond. In fact, they take great pride in coming up with unique betting markets that you will not find anywhere else.

In-play betting is well catered for although this is maybe the one area where they may fall slightly behind their rivals. The interactive in-play suite is not laid out as well as those offered by big players such as Bet365 or Ladbrokes. And the amount of match information and statistics is also lacking. There is a live streaming option but again the choice is limited and the overall experience is not as immersive. For those that enjoy betting in-play, Paddy Power might not be for you, which is a shame because they score well in every other area.

Withdrawals and deposits

As well as accepting most major payment methods, Paddy Power also offer a free Cash Card PPlus. With this card you can withdraw your winnings as cash from cash point machines or spend your balance online or in high street shops.

Accepted deposit methods

All UK customers can use the following deposit methods: Debit Cards Credit Cards Cash PayPal Skrill Neteller PaySafeCard Bank Transfer Cheque Cash Card Limits, fees and processing times will depend on the third party operator in question.

Accepted withdrawal methods

All UK customers can use the following withdrawal methods: Debit/Credit Card Bank Transfer Neteller PayPal PaySafeCard Skrill/Moneybookers Cash Card Cash Card PPlus

Bonuses and offers

Paddy Power offer a welcome bonus (in the form of a free bet) worth up to £30. What’s more, they like to offer their clients a fun betting experience so there are plenty of free bets and ongoing daily bonuses up for grabs. This applies to the sports book as well as the casino, bingo and games sections.

To qualify for the sign-up offer, customers must place a qualifying bet of £10 or more at odds of 1/2 or greater. No bonus code is required so clients just need to open an account in the normal way. Once their account is activated and the qualifying bet has been placed, they will receive three £10 bets that must be used within 30 days. Paddy Power are well-known for their Money-Back Specials which are available on a range of different events every day of the week. Events such as football matches and horse races are often included and the money back offer often takes the form of a free bet.

Over popular offers included promotions such as the Hotshot Jackpot in which eight goal-scorers must be selected for a chance to win a jackpot of £250,000 or more.

Customer Service

Paddy Power offer 24/7 customer service and response times are notoriously quick. The favoured option for many is the live chat service where it only takes a few seconds to connect with an advisor. For those who prefer to talk direct to a member of the customer service team, the phone service is also quick and reliable. Enquiries sent by email, normally get a response within a couple of hours.

You can even ask them a question on their dedicated Twitter account ‎@AskPaddyPower or get odds using the #WhatOddsPaddy hashtag.

In our experience, the Paddy Power customer support team are one of the best in the business. Having a Freephone number for UK and Irish customers is a real bonus, while customers abroad can also get free help through the live chat line.

As usual, there is a list of frequently asked questions to help you find the answer to your problem without having to get in touch with the helpdesk.

Conclusion

A string of joke adverts, controversial marketing campaigns and banter-filled social media posts have got Paddy Power a reputation for being the naughty boys of the betting industry. However, they are just very good at tapping into the student-type culture of the young modern-day sports fan.

But behind the laddish culture and contrived rebelliousness, there is plenty of method to their madness. They know and understand their market very well and target each audience accordingly. And so far they have been very successful.

The live in-play betting suite could be improved but there are plenty of punters who still do not use this feature and will not be bothered by its shortcomings given to other advantages that the company offers. If and when they do bring this feature in line with their biggest rivals, their popularity will surely grow even more. Overall, it’s hard not to like Paddy Powers approach and they have certainly done a great job of getting their brand into the national consciousness. This combined with a serious commitment behind the scenes to provide great betting choice and first-class customer service makes them an excellent choice for the average casual punter as well as those looking for the more unusual and off-the-wall bets.