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About Paddy Power:
Paddy Power is Ireland's biggest and most successful bookmaker. It was founded in 1988 when three existing Irish high street bookmakers combined their skills in a merger. The now internationally recognised company claim to "take an unconventional approach to betting and gambling," believing them to be "firmly rooted in leisure and entertainment space." The well renowned bookmaker operate outlets throughout the UK and Ireland with 190 operating in the brand's origin, eight in Northern Ireland and 60 in the UK itself (as of October 31st 2008). The mission is to make risk-based entertainment more accessible and fun which is believed to have contributed to Paddy Power's strong reputation as "The Punter Friendly Bookmaker."
Betting
When you enter the site, the first thing that will slap you in the face harder than a losing home banker is the sheer amount of betting options on show. In all there are nine different tabs that offer a range of betting options. Clearly the focus here is on sports betting as this is the default page that you are presented with. In the centre of the page lies an image sliding reel of promotions and bets related to current interest. For example, best priced trebles and the latest odds on the African Nations Cup were prominent at the time of our visit. Located underneath is a quick link, tab style box that highlights the top five betting options in three different areas. Live Betting, the Next 5 Races and the Top 5 Bets are all viewable in this area, which helps to pull customers straight to a more instant style of betting. Following on from this is a highlights section that details upcoming events, for example football matches being played on the same day/night of your visit. Included is a short creative writing piece on each which adds a touch of humour to your experience and in turn gives it a very homely feel.
When it comes to sporting bets, Paddy Power literally have the lot. Whether Basketball or Mixed Martial Arts is your thing, you have the options of slapping some of your hard earned money down on the latest odds. They were even offering bets on the 2010 Winter Olympics at the time of writing, something not often seen or advertised on rival sites. A betting area in which some sites fail is the more obscure markets but Paddy Power even cater for these needs. While other sites do offer some, they are either not very well highlighted or not on offer at all. In a section of the site called Novelty Bets you can wager money on some of the less mainstream markets. For example if you fancy a shot at guessing the first member of Girls Aloud to have a baby, the next CEO of British Airways or even the next Bond Girl (the smart money says Cheryl Cole - for all three) then look no further. There is an immense amount of depth and variety here.
On the site's homepage there is a tick box style advert as to why you should choose Paddy Power. One of the reasons is that the company offer early payouts on events and markets that they feel are already done and dusted, even if the result has not been made official yet. Paddy Power also offer "Paddies Price Promise" which applies to both Horse and Greyhound Racing and basically ensures you get the best possible price, no matter when you placed your bet. If you place a bet on the winner of a race and then these odds change, whether or not they go longer or shorter, you will be guaranteed to get the best odds, regardless of what they were when you placed the bet, if your pick wins. This is just one of the many promotions and unique offerings from the site. Another one is Last Man Standing whereby you pay £5 to enter and all you have to do is pick one winner from one Premiership match. If your pick does indeed win, you go through to the next week. This then continues until there is only one person left who will pick up the £10,000 prize. If you fall at the first hurdle, you can re-enter the following week for absolutely nothing. The site offers a decimal conversion option along with a calculator which will ensure you understand exactly how much your potential winnings could be too.
Crikey! All this and we haven't even begun to mention the other services Paddy Power offer. If standard betting and games is not your thing then never fear as Paddy Poker caters for your hand dealing needs. It operates in Dollars however so be aware of this when you sign up. It features a Poker School section which informs you of rules and tips on how to win. It also operates a number of tournaments that are tailored to your experience levels. Beginners tournaments are available for those of you may be new to the poker scene. There are a variety of different promotions here too which include the C*A*S*H army rewards (a spin-off from the famous series M*A*S*H) which rewards players depending on how often they participate. This offers a very light-hearted and fun approach to the otherwise serious matter of gambling. There is also the Casino choice available which delivers games such as Roulette, Blackjack and slot games. You can even download a casino straight to your desktop for easy access.
In honesty we could go on forever talking about the range of options on offer at Paddy Power. We didn't even have enough time to discuss the fact that they offer financial spread betting and a large Games section for you to channel your skills into. Paddy Power offer what seems to be unrivalled promotions in terms of amount and appeal. What we have is one of the most user friendly sites we have experienced and the one that delivers the largest amount of fun and options.
Tick Box:
Safe: Yes
Demos: Yes
24/7 Support: Unclear
Live Chat: Yes
Download Required: Yes (For a range of games)
Promotions: Yes
Disclaimer: All deals and promotions listed were correct at the time of this review, and are subject to change. For current promotions, please visit the website as listed above. Please feel free to use the comments section to post details of current promotions including, where applicable, valid dates.