Paddy Power and Facebook are planning to launch live cash betting on the social networking website by the end of October, according to the Irish bookmaker’s Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Kennedy.
Kennedy revealed the project’s timeframe to the Sunday Independent newspaper after carrying out a trial run of real-money sportsbetting for 2,000 people in Britain.
“We hope to launch more broadly in the next six to eight weeks depending on the learnings from that (test),” Kennedy said.
“In the US alone, consumers spend what amounts to 100,000 years in one month on Facebook, and betting is an inherently social activity. There’s no doubt that the online consumer is consuming social media disproportionately.
“People won’t be able to see each other’s stakes or their winnings, but they will be able to see if they choose to: bet selections you’re making, the hot index of who’s doing well, they’ll be able to challenge bets, laugh at bets.
“It gives people complete flexibility on what they do or don’t open up to.”
Paddy Power has been one of the most active betting brands in the social media space, with about 10 million fans on Facebook and 250,000 followers on Twitter. Online is currently the source of about 20% of the company’s total revenue.
