Film on Paddy Power's Founding Deal Gets Hollywood Treatment

A feature film tracing the formation of Paddy Power is in development, with Colm Meaney, Brian Gleeson, Aidan Gillen and Alex Murphy attached to star, Casino.org News reported.

Matt Lipsey, known for directing Ted Lasso, is set to direct the project. No release date has been set.

The screenplay draws on Punters: How Paddy Power Bet Billions and Changed Gambling Forever, a 2021 book by journalist Aaron Rogan, with Dale Longmore, John Quinn and Brian Durnin writing the adaptation. It will be the first original scripted title from Irish production company Playhouse Studios.

Rogan told Variety, as reported by Casino.org News, that the project is "an Irish story with global appeal," adding that the expansion of the US gambling market in recent years makes the timing of the adaptation notable.

The narrative centres on the 1988 deal that created Paddy Power, when three separate firms came together: the Kenny O'Reilly partnership, led by Stewart Kenny with partner Vincent O'Reilly; the Richard Power Group, linked to David Power; and Corcoran's, run by John Corcoran.

According to Casino.org News, Paddy Power went on to build one of the betting industry's most recognisable brands through provocative advertising and publicity stunts, expanding beyond Ireland after launching its first website in 2000.

The company merged with Betfair in 2016, and the combined business took the name Flutter Entertainment in 2020.

Playhouse Studios chief executive Peggy Cafferty told Variety, per Casino.org News, that Paddy Power "stood out immediately as a story with real scale, authentic dark humor, grit and tenacity," and said "you could not make up this incredible story."

Cafferty described the film as chronicling "the extraordinary rise of one company that refused to play by the rules and set out on a path of ambition, risk and consequence," and said the bookmaker repeatedly "stepped outside the norms of marketing with brilliant twists and always with wit."

The film's synopsis, as cited by Casino.org News, frames the story as "the crazy true story of how one man bet big on brash advertising and brought online gambling—and addiction—to every corner of the globe."

The synopsis does not identify that central figure, though some secondary industry coverage has pointed to Stewart Kenny, who co-founded the company and served as its chief executive from 1988 to 2002. Producers have not confirmed which real-life figures the four lead actors will portray.

Casino.org News noted an added wrinkle to the casting: Meaney appeared in Paddy Power's Cheltenham Festival advertising in 2020 and 2022, fronting the bookmaker's Ireland-versus-England banter before signing on to play a role in the film about the company's history.