2015 full of online casino mergers

The general casino news last year was dominated by the numerous mergers and acquisitions which took place and none more important than that between online casino operator Paddy Power and Betfair which many people saw as an unlikely alliance. The secret to this merger probably lies in the fact that the Chief Executive of Betfair Breon Corcoran was prior to 2012 an employee of Paddy Power and has kept contact with his former colleagues. It should be remembered that Paddy Power is very much a sports and online casinos led business which is probably best known for quirky advertisements and indeed still employs a head of mischief which generally attracts the weekend player although there are of course many exceptions to that with many Irish casino players being very regular players. Betfair on the other hand was established as a peer to peer online gambling site which attracted many so called professional gamblers indeed it has been reported in the casino news that instead of being individual  to individual many would be bookmakers were signing up to make money. How this will all fit together remains to be seen but it is known that the new group will be headquartered in Dublin and it will have a listing on the London stock exchange. There will also be savings brought about by the merger which generally in the casino news means job losses but no statement has been made t that effect but the largest issue will probably not be the online casino side of the business but the several hundred shops which Paddy Power has in Ireland and the UK. Betfair has no experience of such shops as it is very much a digital focussed business and there must be a question of the future of betting shops in the long run anyway. If there are any changes announced in the online casino business casinos.ie will try to let you know.