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Paddy Power Review Summary
Paddy Power is one of the world’s largest online bookmakers and is one of the most successful gaming operators of all time. The Irish bookie famous for some of the most competitive odds online and their “money-back special” promotional offers, which can drastically reduce the bookmaker’s edge in some markets.
Paddy Power was formed in 1988 after a trio of different Irish bookmakers came together to form the company. They have a large land-based presence across the United Kingdom and Ireland, with hundreds of betting shops. Though they are based in Ireland, most of their profits come from outside The Emerald Isle. Their parent company is Paddy Power plc. They are traded on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol, PPB.
Paddy Power is licensed in most countries around the world. Their sports betting product is licensed and regulated by the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission. They also hold a licensed UK Gambling Commission for their poker, casino, and bingo offerings. Paddy Power owns several other international bookmakers, including two of the largest Australian bookmakers, Sportsbet and IAS. They also have a partnership with French bookmaker, PMU.
On September 8th, 2015, Paddy Power and their British rivals, Betfair, agreed to terms to a merger. The business is publicly owned, but Paddy Power has a slight edge in shareholders with 52% coming from former Paddy Power shareholders and 48% by former Betfair shareholders. The merger was officially completed on February 2nd, 2016. Betfair and Paddy Power still operate as separate brands in much of the world, including in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Italy. Most notably, Paddy Power does not accept residents based in the United States, Canada, and Germany.
A Personal Opinion on Paddy Power Betting Site
What We Like About Paddy Power
According to some, Paddy Power is the best bookmaker in the history of sports betting. We can’t offer much of an argument against that statement. For our money, it’s easily one of top ten bookmakers worldwide, and most likely a top five.
Logging on to Paddy Power is an exciting experience. It’s rare that we say that about any online bookmaker, but it’s absolutely true when it comes to Paddy. They have so much to offer on a daily basis. Their offers are always changing, and they have tons of new promotions. Paddy Power is most famous for their “money back specials.” The promotion isn’t just lip service or offers that aren’t worth much. Paddy Power regularly pays out on these promotions. They hit exceptionally high rate.
Also, those aren’t the only promotions they offer. There is nearly an endless list of promotions year round, for just about every market, which we will describe in detail more below. Paddy Power may be safer than a bank to keep your money. They have elite level customer service, along with massive betting limits. They also offer streaming for thousands of events a year.
What We Don’t Like About Paddy Power
It’s tough to come up a list of negatives for Paddy Power without it sounding nitpicky. However, there are a few aspects punters should consider before they deposit. If there is a negative regarding their betting markets and promotions, it’s that they are too focused on the UK and Irish sports. That’s where the majority of their customers are from, so it only makes sense they focus on sports and markets that interest them.
However, it is worth noting if you’re looking for promotions or bonuses on markets that aren’t British or Irish-centric, then you will likely have to find those somewhere else. Their accepted currencies also tie into their UK and European focus. Paddy Power only accepts Pound Sterling and Euros. Once again, this doesn’t affect most of their customers as they service mostly Europeans, but it is something that has to be worked around if you’re a customer not dealing in Pounds or Euros.
Paddy Power promotes their in-play betting markets and streaming markets heavily. However, they aren’t available for streaming on mobile or tablets. This isn’t a massive drawback but is disappointing considering how often they promote their mobile application and betting options.
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Paddy Power Sportsbook Bonuses
Bet £/€ 10, Get €30 (3x£ / €10)
Players who open a new account and place a bet worth £/€ 10 will receive three free £/€ 10 bets. To qualify, players must place a bet at odds of 1/2 (-200 moneyline and 1.5 decimal) or greater. This also applies to any combined odds on multiples (parlays).
The welcome bonus is available for new customers only and is can only be used at Paddy Power’s sportsbook. The free bet offer expires in 30 days. The free bet offer is open to Irish and British residents, and about a dozen other countries.
Like many UK bookmakers that offer free bet promotions, Paddy Power does not allow players who deposit with Neteller or Skrill to qualify for the introductory free bet offer. This is something to take note of when depositing if you’re interested in the free bet offer.
Money Back Specials
Paddy Power is the home of the Money Back Special. As Paddy states on their site, many other bookmakers have come up with similar promotions but have fallen short.
At any given time of the year, there are at least a half a dozen specials going. Most are centered around British and Irish markets, but there is occasionally specials on more mainland European events and some North American-based sports, such as American football and basketball.
One of the coolest parts about the Money Back Specials is that customers can view the full archive of their past specials and see which ones paid out.
We’ve gone through a list of their past specials and payouts, and it seems that, on average, Paddy pays out 3-4 Money Back Specials a month. The max refund on these wagers is usually capped at £/€ 100, but considering how large of a bookmaker they are and the amount of people that take advantage of these specials – you can be assured that they are losing a fairly decent chunk of earnings.
Paddy Power Review Highlights
Interface and Odds
Paddy Power’s green and white interface is a throwback to their Irish roots but is also an excellent backdrop to some of the best wagering software online. Their software isn’t elite from a technological standpoint, but as far functionality, it might be the best online.
PaddyPower.com also offers a lot more than other online bookmakers. Many sportsbooks provide blogs, but few have any entertaining or informative content. Paddy’s Blog is full of interesting betting news and humor. It’s well worth a read, even if you’re not betting regularly at Paddy Power.
There are a few other extras, including audio commentary on the latest matches and an excellent bet calculator. Few bookmakers have betting calculators available on their sites, and almost none has one as advanced as Paddy Power’s.
Paddy Power’s markets are heavily focused on British and Irish sports and to a lesser extent North American markets, like the NFL or NBA. However, that doesn’t mean they lack odds on other events. British and Irish betting sports will have more betting markets than their competitors, but European football leagues are extremely close.
As far as sports covered, there is almost no sport in the world that Paddy Power doesn’t have at least a few betting markets. They list every sport available in their “A-Z Betting” sidebar, which is extensive. They also list betting markets by country. Punters can go from betting on English Premier League soccer to the Kazakhstan Premier League. There are few other bookmakers that give customers this wide of range of options.
In-play betting markets are one of Paddy Power’s best attributes. They offer a ton of sports for live betting, including all top flight European football leagues. Live betting markets are extensive as well, and go far beyond sides and totals. There are over a dozen in-play markets for major matches.
Overall, Paddy Power is one of the most competitive sportsbooks online when it comes to odds. It is rare that players have their betting limits limited, but it is possible. Even large bookmakers these days have begun to limit or restrict some of their biggest winners more aggressively.
Large Maximum Payouts
Paddy Power is one of the leaders when it comes to sports betting and their maximum payouts back that up. Since they have so many markets, betting limits will vary quite a bit. Football/Soccer have the largest maximum payout at Paddy. All of their match betting, total goals, correct score, first goalscorer, Asian handicap, and handicap wagering tops out at £1,000,000.
Using the above markets, the £1 million payout is available for the Champions League, Europa League, World Cup and European Championship, Premier League, English Championship, League 1 & 2, Scottish Premier and League 1, German Bundesliga, French Ligue 1 and Spanish La Liga. All other markets for top flight leagues and international matches have a maximum amount of £100,000.
No other sport comes close to the £1 million payouts that football has available. For major markets, Cricket, Gaelic Athletic Association, Rugby, and Tennis are all capped at £250k. American sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB have a max of £100k. Many smaller market sports, such as Esports or political markets have maximum payouts between £20k-£50k. These limits are quite large for smaller markets.
Paddy Power Customer Support
Customers can almost always get a response from one of their support channels within a matter of minutes. There are very few complaints about Paddy Power’s support staff, and it is easy to see why.
Free Paddy Power Deposits and Withdrawals
As mentioned above, Paddy Power accepts deposits and processes withdrawals only in Great Britain Pounds and Euros. All deposits and withdrawals are free on Paddy Power, except for bank wires where intermediary and receiving banks charge fees.
They have a fairly large list of deposit options. However, not as many as some more international bookmakers. Visa, MasterCard, and Entropay are all accepted, and deposits are instant. Popular e-wallets, Neteller, and Skrill, are also available, but bear in mind players who deposit using this method will not receive the new account free bet bonus.
Paddy also accepts PayPal, which can be used for the first deposit bonus. Like Skrill and Neteller, PayPal deposits are credited instantly. Bank transfers and cheques are also options, but will take 1-5 days and 5-10 days to clear and be added to your account, respectively.
Withdrawals are fast at Paddy Power. All e-wallets (Neteller, Skrill, and PayPal) payouts are processed in just 1-4 hours. Cashouts back to debit or credit cards take 2-3 business days. Bank take 1-5 business days. These speeds are fantastic and rival just about any other online bookmaker in the business when it comes to processing speeds for all methods.
Elite Bookmaker – Paddy Power Overall
Paddy Power is one of the pioneers of not just online sports betting, but sports betting in general. There are fewer safer bets online than Paddy, but they offer so much more than security. Their Money Back Specials, competitive odds and nearly endless markets make them an excellent choice for anyone. Irish and British punters have a clear number one choice for their betting markets in Paddy Power.
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About the Author
Joseph Falchetti
Editor-in-Chief, Pro Sports Bettor and Casino Expert
Joe is the author of the majority of sports betting pages on SBS and he serves as a gambling consultant to our content team. He's been mentioned on Forbes.com as a gaming analyst, and his articles have been linked by larger publications, such as the New York Times.