Paddy Power Review: What Its Prices Cost You Per £100 Staked
This is a price measurement, not a product review. Paddy Power was measured on the same basket as every other book in the August 2026 study — 58 of its match-result markets priced in the capture window — and came out 10th of 18 in the ranking — 8.56% margin, £7.88 per £100 staked. Nothing about its app, its offers or its service is measured here.
No commercial relationship. We earn nothing from Paddy Power and cannot link it. It is measured and published on identical terms to the operators we do earn from.
What Paddy Power charged in the August 2026 sample
- Margin
- 8.56%
- Cost per £100
- £7.88
- Rank
- 10 of 18
- Markets sampled
- 58
The margin is the overround: add up the implied probability of every outcome in a market and a fair book totals 100%. Paddy Power totalled 108.56% on average, and that surplus is the charge. Expressed against your stake rather than against the fair book it comes to £7.88 per £100 — the two figures measure the same thing from different ends, which is why both are printed rather than one.
In this window the keenest book measured £5.67 per £100 and the dearest £10.58. Paddy Power sat £2.21 above the keenest end and £2.70 below the dearest. Its immediate neighbours were 888sport just keener and BetVictor just dearer.
Paddy Power odds by competition
The same operator, the same window, 5 different answers — 3.55 points between Paddy Power’s own best and worst. A margin is not one number an operator sets; it is set market by market.
| Competition | Margin | Cost per £100 | Against its own average |
|---|---|---|---|
| ATP Canadian Open | 6.30% | £5.93 | -2.26 |
| Premier League | 7.05% | £6.59 | -1.51 |
| League Two | 9.78% | £8.91 | +1.22 |
| League One | 9.79% | £8.92 | +1.23 |
| Championship | 9.85% | £8.97 | +1.29 |
Paddy Power priced ATP Canadian Open most keenly at 6.30% and Championship least keenly at 9.85%, a span of 3.55 points between its own best and worst competition. A bettor who only ever backed ATP Canadian Open would therefore pay a different price at this operator than one who only ever backed Championship, without either of them doing anything differently.
What an 8.56% margin costs over a year
Paddy Power charges 8.56% on turnover, not on deposits. Stake the same pound twice and it is charged twice, which is what turns a small percentage into a yearly figure.
| Staked in a year | Cost at 8.56% | At the keenest measured | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| £1,000 | £79 | £57 | £22 |
| £5,000 | £394 | £284 | £110 |
| £20,000 | £1,576 | £1,134 | £442 |
These are arithmetic on the measured margin, not a prediction about anyone’s results. What happens to individual bets is a separate matter entirely; the margin is the part that is known in advance and charged whatever happens.
The third column is the same turnover at the keenest margin in this window, Betfred. At £5,000 staked the gap is £110 a year — worth setting against whatever the sign-up offer is worth, because one is charged every year and the other arrives once.
Who holds the Paddy Power licence
| Licensed entity | PPB Counterparty Services Limited |
|---|---|
| Account number | 39439 |
| Licence number | 039439-R-319330-012 |
| Held since | November 2014 |
| Domain registration | paddypower.com · Active |
Paddy Power is a brand, not a licensee. The Commission licenses PPB Counterparty Services Limited under account 39439 for remote betting on real events, and every price measured on this page was published under that licence. The account has held it since November 2014.
The same licence covers Betfair Sportsbook in this study. Sharing a licensee is not the same as sharing a book: Paddy Power and Betfair Sportsbook finished 1.70 points apart and published the same prices in only 9 of the 40 markets both priced. One licence, more than one trading position.
Paddy Power on the Gambling Commission’s register
Actions currently listed against PPB Counterparty Services Limited. The register is not a complete history — older matters age off it.
17 December 2025 · Commission costs, Public statement and Payment in lieu of financial penalty. Commission record (opens in a new tab).
We record these whether or not we earn from the operator, and we do not summarise them beyond what the Commission published. An action is against the licensed entity, not against the brand, which is why the entity name is printed above it.
Where Paddy Power sits in the study
10 of 18 puts Paddy Power in the middle third of the table. That is one capture window, one market type and 5 competitions, so it is a finding about this sample rather than a verdict on the operator. A different basket would produce a different order, and saying so is not a hedge — it is what the method page commits us to.
The full table, exchanges included, is on the register; how the figure is calculated is on the method page.
There is no link to Paddy Power on this page. We hold no arrangement with it and it earns us nothing, which does not change how it was measured or where it appears in the ranking.
Questions about Paddy Power
What margin did Paddy Power charge?
8.56% across the 58 match-result markets we sampled on 7 August 2026, which works out at £7.88 per £100 staked. That is one capture window on one market type and is not a statement about its prices today.
Is Paddy Power cheap or expensive compared to other bookmakers?
It ranked 10 of 18 bookmakers in this sample, keenest first. The keenest measured £5.67 per £100 and the dearest £10.58, so Paddy Power sat £2.21 above the keenest end and £2.70 below the dearest.
Is Paddy Power licensed in Great Britain?
Yes. The Gambling Commission licenses PPB Counterparty Services Limited under account 39439, licence 039439-R-319330-012, held since November 2014 and active when we checked the public register. Paddy Power is a brand operated under that licence, not a licensee in its own right.
Who actually operates Paddy Power?
PPB Counterparty Services Limited, which also holds the licence covering Betfair Sportsbook in this study. Separate brands, one licence holder — and, as the figures here show, not necessarily the same prices.
Does Paddy Power have a regulatory record?
The public register currently lists one action against PPB Counterparty Services Limited, the most recent dated 17 December 2025. The register is not a complete history — older matters age off it. The detail is set out below with a link to the Commission.
Does the margin apply to every market at Paddy Power?
No. These are match-result markets across 5 competitions. Within that sample its keenest competition was ATP Canadian Open at 6.30% and its dearest was Championship at 9.85%, a span of 3.55 points. Other market types are not measured here at all.
What does an 8.56% margin cost over a year?
At £5,000 staked across a year, roughly £394. The margin is charged on turnover, not on deposits, so it recurs on every bet rather than once — which is why it can outweigh a welcome offer several times over.
Why is there no link to Paddy Power?
Because we hold no commercial arrangement with Paddy Power and earn nothing from it. It is measured, ranked and published on exactly the same terms as the operators we do link, which is the point of publishing the unlinked ones at all.
Can I check these figures myself?
Yes, and that is the intention. The formula, the basket, the exclusion rules and the test vectors are published on the method page, and the odds calculator runs the same arithmetic on any prices you enter. The figures here are ours and can be wrong; where a check shows they are, they change.