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Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

How Paddy Power is using its brick-and-mortar bookies to push spending online

Cash is still king, as far as the bookmaker’s concerned.

BETTING GIANT PADDY Power Betfair will put a self-service terminal in virtually every one of its shops as part of an ongoing effort to digitise the brick-and-mortar bookie trade.

Speaking at Retail Excellence Ireland’s e-commerce event in Dublin, the bookmaker’s head of multichannel, Cecilia Mourain, said the company first took a punt on self-service machines in 2009.

“That’s very much where we see the future going,” she said. “We think more and more customers will move away from that interaction with a person in a shop.

“We’ve got more self-service terminals than any of our competitors. We keep rolling out more. We’ve got 300 shops (in Ireland and the UK) and we’re rolling out 300 terminals, so one per shop on average.”

Mourain made her presentation the same day it emerged that Paddy Power’s outgoing chief executive, Breon Corcoran, broke ranks with the British betting industry and urged the UK government to introduce heavy curbs on controversial fixed-odds betting terminals, which he described as “toxic”.

Flashy fixed-odds terminals allow punters to play simulated games like roulette, while self-service is more akin to a supermarket checkout machine that allow customers to avoid making a transaction with a cashier.

Mourain – who was recruited last year to bridge the gap between Paddy Power’s online and offline trade - said the bookie is still very much banking on brick-and-mortar retail to drive punters online.

“We know that 30% of people in the UK and Ireland bet online and in-shop,” Mourain said. “We also know that this segment of the population is growing faster than people who bet online only. They’re quite an important segment.

“They’re also more high-value in our industry. We know that people we drive online from our shops spend a lot more with us online.”

Cash

Two years ago, Paddy Power started putting tablet computers in its shops so customers could sign up for online accounts in-store.

The company also made it possible for punters to top-up their ‘digital wallets’ using cash, which Mourain said accounts for more than half of Paddy Power’s online sales.

“In Ireland, in particular – which is still very much focused on cash – customers do value that service of being able to pay for their online service using cash,” she said, noting that cash gives customers a degree of anonymity, which is “key to our retail proposition”.

“In our world, we know that our customers want to go to a shop because they value the atmosphere, they like the social experience they get from it, they like the ability to pay in cash and they want to remain anonymous,” she said.

Paddy Power made anonymity a big part of its ‘Onside’ app, which was rolled out in January.

“We designed it around a light registration process,” Mourain said. “We know that our customers don’t like to give much information of who they are. As a result, it asks only for a phone number, not an email address.”

Paddy Power is hoping to differentiate itself from competitors through its ‘content’, like in-app information about horse races and by allowing customers to track their in-store bets through the app.

“They can retrieve that bet and they can interact with the bet if they decide to cash up,” Mourain said. “That allows us to prolong the process.”

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Written by Conor McMahon and posted on Fora.ie

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    Mute mary carey
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    Jun 24th 2015, 1:37 PM

    So he tells his boss to go F themselves and then he gets a promotion…?

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    Mute Beano
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    Jun 24th 2015, 1:40 PM

    I’m gonna try that…wish me luck

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    Mute Gareth Wogan
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    Jun 24th 2015, 1:41 PM

    he had moxie

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    Mute Beano
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    Jun 24th 2015, 1:46 PM

    Balls……That didn’t go too well

    Anyone know of anyone hiring?

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    Mute OggieThe4th
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    Jun 24th 2015, 1:47 PM

    Baz is,Beano :)

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    Mute Neal Ireland Hello
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    Jun 24th 2015, 2:19 PM

    You mean when he resigned from his weekly RTE Pulse show which he presented and produced done for free for over half a decade as a public service, while license payers’ money continued to be diverted to making rubbish?

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    Mute Kane Abel
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    Jun 24th 2015, 3:17 PM

    Well obviously his Dad is Boss man on the Voice of Ireland, and his other Dad is Boss of 2FM….. Cause he sure as **** can’t present….. Typical RTE with their ankle-high standards :(

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    Mute Scarr
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    Jun 24th 2015, 3:33 PM

    Should 2fm not be done away with and funds diverted to more worthy causes within TV / radio? And no, I don’t mean paying inflated salaries – that’s another convo.
    We don’t need a pop music station funded by taxes do we?

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    Mute TheIrishBrain
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    Jun 24th 2015, 5:12 PM

    Was the wind blowing or did he arrive on a bike for that photo.

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    Mute Ivorpabst
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    Jun 24th 2015, 5:26 PM

    @Beano – well, how did it go ?

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    Mute Oisín Mac Aodhagáin
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    Jun 24th 2015, 1:51 PM

    Not sure if its just me but does anyone else find that this lad is a complete and utter wreck the head?

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    Mute Fran Heavey
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    Jun 24th 2015, 3:25 PM

    It appears its not just you

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    Mute Oisín Mac Aodhagáin
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    Jun 24th 2015, 4:41 PM

    So it seems Fran, so it seems

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    Mute Colin Treacy
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    Jun 24th 2015, 1:39 PM

    Bring back Will Leahy…!

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    Mute Deborah Behan
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    Jun 24th 2015, 1:59 PM

    They never replaced Will in my opinion so I haven’t listened in protest. #bringbackWill

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    Mute Seán O'Sullivan
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    Jun 24th 2015, 2:18 PM

    The best comment here Colin!

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    Mute S
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    Jun 24th 2015, 1:38 PM

    Imagine that, someone who already works for RTE getting another job at RTE. Wonders never cease.

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    Mute Mark Ryan
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    Jun 24th 2015, 1:56 PM

    it makes sense to promote internally.

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    Mute Alien8
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    Jun 24th 2015, 2:06 PM

    yes, that always freshens things up.

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    Mute Richard Canavan
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    Jun 24th 2015, 1:41 PM

    Insufferable

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    Mute Michael Chang
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    Jun 24th 2015, 1:51 PM

    2fm should try entertain someone other than a teenage girl at some stage.

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    Mute Carlos Bandanas
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    Jun 24th 2015, 2:52 PM

    “The legendary Colm Hayes”, now that’s a bit of a stretch…

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    Mute Mark Gerard Lochlain
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    Jun 24th 2015, 2:53 PM

    Lol exactly what I thought!!! Lol Colm who?

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    Mute Enda Rochford
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    Jun 24th 2015, 6:10 PM

    They sacked Jim Jim only to find out he was the funny one of the pair, which is bad enough, then shafted Will Leahy, the most popular afternoon show in the country and stuck him on in the weekend, then Colm was losing so many listeners they dropped in a new comedy sidekick Al Porter who sadly wasn’t funny either. Now we get Eoghan. Its a shame, Louise McSharry is probably the best thing on 2FM these days and they don’t even realise it.

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    Mute Morgan Freeman
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    Jun 24th 2015, 1:52 PM

    I’m sorry, but that hair is an outrage.

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    Mute sonny black
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    Jun 24th 2015, 2:08 PM

    I don’t know which is worse.The hair or his personality.

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    Mute John Collins
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    Jun 24th 2015, 2:13 PM

    Overgrown, politically correct, teenager who wont stop speaking in americanisms, lovely.

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    Mute Old Gordon
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    Jun 24th 2015, 8:00 PM

    He’s unbearable.

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    Mute Joan Featherstone
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    Jun 24th 2015, 8:29 PM

    Don’t know him, but seriously can he be as bad Hector…..he’s wreck the head central (I know he’s on Today FM in the morning at present), I’ve turned the dial.

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    Mute Mark Gerard Lochlain
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    Jun 24th 2015, 2:12 PM

    A complete and utter toss pot!!! Couldn’t listen to him!!! He’ll be well switched off!!

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    Mute Denise Friary
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    Jun 24th 2015, 2:25 PM

    I will be operating my dial if I hear him. The idiot is a clown.

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    Mute little jim
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    Jun 24th 2015, 2:55 PM

    He’s actually both.

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    Mute John Pidgeon
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    Jun 24th 2015, 3:03 PM

    2fm is a shambles, a station for teenyboppers. They god rid of Will Leahy who was head and shoulders above everybody and now have a terrible line up from the breakfast show right through to the 2 headwreckers they have in the evening. Now they have another headmelter in to keep the teens happy. Today Fm is not as good as it once was but it is still head and shoulders above 2fm.

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    Mute Pádraig McCann
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    Jun 24th 2015, 1:46 PM

    Oh dear….

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    Mute Ivorpabst
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    Jun 24th 2015, 2:04 PM

    He was very strange on TV covering EP last September. Very poor performance.

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    Mute Seán O'Sullivan
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    Jun 24th 2015, 1:57 PM

    If enough dont pay their licence the Irish might eventually arrive at some decent broadcasting. eg An item on Saturday with Miriam, covering 2 other rte presenters being praised for working multi roles that new talent could have been used for is worrying for a national broadcaster. New talent now!

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    Mute Dave Murray
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    Jun 24th 2015, 1:57 PM

    Bring back Dusty Rhodes.

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    Mute Hermes
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    Jun 24th 2015, 5:34 PM

    but the summer has been very wet …

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    Mute Elaine Moriarty
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    Jun 24th 2015, 2:53 PM

    Can’t stand him!

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    Mute Donnacha Byrne
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    Jun 24th 2015, 2:21 PM

    The merry go-round in rte, still goes round & round and has no intention of stopping

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    Mute Mark Ryan
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    Jun 24th 2015, 2:01 PM

    makes sense they can’t compete with today fm and newstalk in this slot so probably gone for a cheaper option.

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    Mute John Walsh
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    Jun 24th 2015, 3:42 PM

    I think RTEs idea is to make 2fm so bad, drive listener numbers down so they can justify turning it off.

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    Mute OneTrueVoice
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    Jun 24th 2015, 2:05 PM

    probably the most talented domestic entertainment broadcaster of our generation.

    And that’s not a compliment.

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    Mute Brian Ward
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    Jun 24th 2015, 4:34 PM

    Maybe if he throws another hissy fit in a few months time he could get the Director General job! Maybe that’s where so many unemployed people are going wrong these days. Turn up at an interview acting like a drama queen telling the interviewers to go f**k themselves and voila, “when can you start?”.

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    Mute Liam Na mBád
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    Jun 24th 2015, 2:21 PM

    Big boots to fill – Colm was good and i listened to his show a lot. Eoghan wouldn’t be my cup of tea as I’m not a teenage girl so i doubt ill tune in. Hope it goes well for him though!

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    Mute Mark Gerard Lochlain
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    Jun 24th 2015, 2:54 PM

    It’s the boys he’s after love!! :)

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    Mute Cormac Bergin
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    Jun 24th 2015, 8:16 PM

    He can’t be any worse than Hayes, without doubt he’s the greatest plonker on radio. How such an unintelligent clown can make on to national air waves is mind boggling. He was embarrassing to listen to. Will leahy I liked and commanded the evening drive home, since his move I’ve tuned into nova. Good alternative.

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    Mute Ger Buckley
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    Jun 24th 2015, 6:31 PM

    big honour my hole…couldnt get a job on sky.

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    Mute Ingo Weinhold
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    Jun 24th 2015, 10:40 PM

    another reason not to listen to 2fm…the head on him

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    Mute Ivorpabst
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    Jun 24th 2015, 5:29 PM

    The one true talent they should give a show to is Al Porter.

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    Mute Aoife Gregg
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    Jun 24th 2015, 3:32 PM

    Jesus Christ people LEAVE HIM ALONE! Take your anger out on RTE. have u ever heard of ‘change is good’! Looking forward to tuning in and hopefully we see more and more of the talented Al Porter✌

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    Mute Suzie Sunsine
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    Jun 24th 2015, 3:58 PM

    wow can you actually see al porter through your radio ?

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    Mute West Cork Lad
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    Jun 24th 2015, 5:26 PM

    In this instance ,’Change is only good’ at a till ,Aoife .

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    Mute JOHN O'DONOVAN
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    Jun 27th 2015, 8:36 AM

    Glad to see that 2fm boss made a mistake by taking the greatest daily show on 2fm – Will Leahy – off air – Colm Hayes is gone already !

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    Mute Caroline Roche
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    Jun 26th 2015, 4:37 AM

    Aaarrgh – so sick and tired of the radio – 80% male voices – I want to hear a smart interesting woman not this lad

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