Paddy Power creates 1,440 jobs - graduate jobs

Expansion plans from the bookmaker Paddy Power in the UK, Ireland and Australia are set to create 1,440 new jobs, many of them for graduates.

The three-year plan will see 810 extra posts created in the UK as the firm boosts the growth of its retail estate. The workforce in Ireland will grow to 2,200 as 500 staff are recruited.

Most of the new Irish staff will work at Paddy Power's head office in Tallaght, west Dublin, in risk management, e-commerce, online marketing and technology.

Chief executive Patrick Kennedy said the firm's international expansion will create extra tax income for Ireland's treasury and is good news for the economy.

He said: "The benefit to the economy of our international expansion extends beyond job creation. Paddy Power pays corporation tax in Ireland on all our internet and telephone profits from the 162 countries where we do business."

The firm said in a trading update that UK retail activities are still growing strongly after it opened 28 new shops this financial year and the income left by people losing bets rose 17% on a like-for-like basis.