Deal done by online gambling firms

After all the rumours in the general gambling news it would appear that Paddy Power and Betfair have agreed a £6 billion merger although merger is probably not quite the right word as Paddy Power will effectively be acquiring Betfair with Betfair shareholders receiving shares in Paddy Power Betfair as the new company will be called according to gambling news reports. Good news for the Irish gambling industry is that the new company will continue to be based in Dublin and there will be listings on the Irish and UK stock markets. Although online gambling has been a major force in the results of Paddy Power it is estimated in some circles that up to 80% of the new company’s revenues could come from online gambling. Betfair is currently of course 100% online gambling and in purely sports gambling having no online casino action at all. Further reports in the gambling news suggest that the fit between the two companies is even better in sports gambling as Paddy Power generates more income from racing than football whereas Betfair is the other way around with a reported 66% coming from football gambling. The gambling news is going to continue to be full of talks and rumours for a while yet as William Hill and 888 have been left out in the cold in recent deals and may decide to talk to each other. 888 have been in the gambling news very recently for trying to acquire BwinParty but that seems to have fallen through after a revised offer from GVC tipped the balance but 888 itself was the subject of a failed takeover bid by William Hill earlier this year. The situation for both companies may have changed now that Ladbrokes and Coral have a deal as well as Paddy Power and Betfair creating larger competitors.