Irish film on the rise of Paddy Power in development, with Gleeson, Meaney and Gillen cast

A feature film about the origins of bookmaker Paddy Power is in development, according to a report first published by Variety. The project comes from Ireland-based production company Playhouse Studios, which appears to have all but confirmed the news by reposting the Variety article on LinkedIn with the caption "We have some exciting news."

The screenplay draws on the 2021 book "Punters: How Paddy Power Bet Billions and Changed Gambling Forever", written by Aaron Rogan, deputy editor of the Business Post. The story follows Stewart Kenny, co-founder and former chief executive of the business, and how he rose to prominence through the company's advertising. Kenny has since become an outspoken critic of the gambling industry.

Brian Gleeson, Colm Meaney, Alex Murphy and Aidan Gillen are reported to be in the cast. Matt Lipsey, who has produced and directed several episodes of Ted Lasso, is attached as director. No official release date has been set, and the report shows no sign that anyone with a current or former stake in Paddy Power or Flutter Entertainment is involved in the production.

The synopsis describes an "inherently Irish origin story" about how a few chancers changed the world, while also pointing to the harm gambling has caused. It says the story destroyed hundreds of thousands of people's lives. Playhouse chief executive Peggy Cafferty told Variety that the story has real scale, dark humour, grit and tenacity, calling it the rise of a company that refused to play by the rules and followed a path of ambition, risk and consequence.

The film arrives against the backdrop of Flutter Entertainment's growth. The group took shape after Paddy Power merged with Betfair in 2015, creating a dominant force in Ireland and Britain. It acquired FanDuel in the United States in 2018 and adopted the Flutter name in 2020. Today it is the UK market leader through Paddy Power, Sky Betting and Gaming, and Betfair, and through FanDuel it is one of the two largest operators in the US. It is active in about 100 countries and has a market capitalisation above $14bn on the New York Stock Exchange.

With Kenny now a critic of the sector, industry observers are likely to watch closely how the film balances the commercial success of the business with its social costs.