The Irish bookmaker that famously upset the Vatican in 2005 by taking bets on the next Pope is about to turn its fire on the Duke of York.
Paddy Power, which is already offering odds of 1-2 that Prince Andrew will resign as the UK Trade Ambassador, will start to offer odds on the age of his companion to the royal wedding. Last week pictures emerged of the Duke arm-in-arm with Virginia Roberts, then aged 17, who claims she was abused by Jeffrey Epstein, a billionaire financier and friend of the Duke.
Patrick Kennedy, chief executive of Paddy Power, admitted he did not expect to take large sums of money on the bet, but said that novelty bets continued to play an important role in building the bookmaker’s brand. Its forecast-beating full-year results show that the group’s marketing-led approach is paying off. Pre-tax profits rose by 55 per cent to €104.2 million, while the amount staked was up 39 per cent and gross win climbed 50 per cent.