Paddy Power beta-launches on Facebook
Irish operator goes live with real-money gaming Facebook sports betting app
Paddy Power has beta-launched its real-money Facebook sports betting app, Paddy Power In Play, the first sports betting gambling app on the social network.
Paddy Power In Play allows users to log-in with their existing Paddy Power account as well as create a new account within the app and offers a large range of sports betting markets.
The beta launch also contains a number of social features including a news feed, achievements and a “Heat Index” allowing users to track their bets alongside their friends on the site.
It also features a bet scanner where users can copy or “challenge” other users bets, in a similar manner to its BetDash product.
The In-Play app was developed in-house by Paddy Power with a team of 20 developers working on the product and an additional “five or six” joining the team once it goes live, according to Paddy Power’s head of online Peter O’Donovan.
“We will invest as we see success and we have team who are focused on it, and they have a number of further releases they are working on after this beta release,” O’Donovan told an analyst conference call.
Patrick Kennedy, Paddy Power CEO, told analysts the launch was part of the firm’s plan to build a dominant brand in the social space.
“We are aiming for the same leadership position in social media as we have in mobile,” Kennedy said.
“We see it as an acquisition channel for the brand, and as a means of growing our existing share of wallet,” he added.
He pointed to the one million Facebook likes for the product meaning Paddy Power was connected to every male over the age of 18 in the UK through their users friendship network.