Paddy Power opts out of Spain and Netherlands
Head of online Peter O'Donovan says heavy investment will continue only in "most attractive" markets
Paddy Power has ruled itself out of the race for licences in the soon-to-be-regulated Dutch market, and will not be tempted into Spain following slots regulation, its head of online told eGaming Review.
Peter O’Donovan said the Irish operator, which yesterday reported a 10% rise in full-year online profits, remains focussed on only the largest and most attractive regulated markets.
“We’ve taken a good look at both Spain and the Netherlands,” O’Donovan said. “The combination of the overall market size and the local competitive dynamic mean they’re not an opportunity we’re going for,” he added.
O’Donovan cited the manner in which incumbent operators in Spain were allowed to retain market share post-regulation as an off-putting factor, and hinted that the Netherlands could follow suit. “That’s not a market dynamic we can compete in,” he said.
For now that means Paddys’ European business focusses on the UK and Italy, with the latter making a loss of 16.8m last year despite its market share creeping up towards 10%.
The company said yesterday it expects to break even in the Italian market by the end of 2014.
“Our view is to look at attractive markets of significant size and invest in them heavily,” O’Donovan said. “And we feel like over the long term we will be the winner in those markets. Spain doesn’t fit into that.”