LISTED BOOKMAKER Paddy Power has applied for a gaming licence in Nevada, positioning itself to become the first European player to enter the US state’s online market if it is liberalised.
The Irish company yesterday confirmed reports it had applied to the Nevada Gaming Commission for an online gaming licence.
A decision is due on its application in November.
If it were to be approved, it would be the first European business to get the green light from Nevada regulators to operate online gaming in the state.
Nevada politicians recently approved regulations that will allow online gaming in hotel bedrooms and other “non-gambling” areas of resort casinos.
The company has applied for the licence in order to be in a position to capitalise in Nevada should the opportunity arise, rather than because it has any firm plans.
It is likely that any opportunity it does pursue would be similar to the deal that it has with the Pari Mutuel, the French state-owned betting business. Paddy Power supplies and operates the company’s risk-management systems.
The Irish company, meanwhile, has won a long-running planning battle to get permission to open a betting shop in Newmarket in Suffolk.
Some local bodies objected to the plan on the grounds that the town already had too many betting shops and that the site chosen was a prime retail location.
Newmarket is the traditional epicentre of flat racing in Britain and is home to two racecourses and many of the leading training yards.
