Paddy Power takes 27% more bets from punters as GAA Gaelic Football & Hurling explodes across UK

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ddy Power spokespersons discuss the benefits of Sky Sports’ recent and controversial GAA deal to sportsbook providers, as the British public go into meltdown during Sunday’s enthralling final between arch-rivals Kilkenny and Tipperary.

The game finished level with the Cats scoring 3-22 to the Premier’s 1-28, the third final in as many years to go to a replay. Both sides will meet again on Saturday 27th September, with a 5pm thrown in at Croke Park.

Sky Sports agreed to show the All-Ireland Gaelic Football and Hurling Championships from June 2014, after securing a three-year deal. These games are Ireland’s most popular participation sports and there are over 2,500 clubs across Ireland, and countless others in America, Europe, Australia, Asia, and Britain, to name but a few. Viewership figures for last year’s All-Ireland SHC Final reached an average of 889,400 and peaked at 1.3 million (RTE Two’s The Sunday Game), so therein lies the potential for retail and online betting providers.

The agreement sees 20 matches exclusively live in the UK, midweek highlights, interviews and results on Sky Sports News, online developments and live streaming of GAA on mobile. While RTE, Ireland’s national TV and radio broadcaster, and Irish language channel, TG4, largely retain their rights, there is genuine fear that they could eventually lose full coverage. But this has subsided somewhat, given positive coverage and promotion of the games, coupled with a rise in emigration. Viewership figures for last Sunday have yet to be released, but should make for an interesting read.

Irish bookmaker Paddy Power said it was stoked about the deal. “As an Irish business and the biggest bookie for GAA, we’re probably even more delighted than most about this deal.  We offer over 80 markets on a televised GAA game and, during peak season, we will offer odds on over 150 local games from all 32 counties.  As fans of home-grown sport, we’re also excited about the impact this will have on GAA in general,” a spokesperson commented.

Public Relations Manager Féilim Mac An Iomaire said they took in 27 per cent more bets from UK punters than last year, with more interest and added excitement from across the Irish Sea.

“Once a sport is televised it always increases the amount of many wagered on it is always increased and a quick glance at our figures shows that the British public’s interest in GAA has certainly increased since the Sky deal.”

David Rey, Managing Director of Sky Business, said at the announcement: “The All-Ireland Gaelic Football and Hurling Championships will serve as a strong footfall driver for Irish pubs and clubs this season. These new rights are part of our commitment to investing in the very best live content to drive value for Irish licensees and joins our already strong line-up, which includes the Barclays Premier League, UEFA World Cup Qualifiers, Euro 2016 Qualifiers, Heineken Cup, Irish Rugby Union Autumn Internationals, The Pro 12 Rugby and summer tour to Argentina as well as the Irish Open golf.”

Liam Ó Néill, President of GAA, added: “We are delighted with this agreement with Sky Sports which will help bring the quality and excitement of our games to a wider international audience. Gaelic games are national games played in a small country, and must compete for audience loyalty with the hugely powerful sporting and marketing resources of international sports. We welcome our new partnership with Sky Sports and firmly believe that their coverage of our games will bring a new excitement to our championships.”

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