Bookie to Banker? Follow Paddy Power’s Patrick Kennedy Story

Can a bookie transform into a banker? Patrick Kennedy’s example seems workable, should he get the Bank of Ireland job.

Patrick Kennedy’s announcement that he’s stepping down from Paddy Power’s CEO post has certainly shaken up the online sportsbooks in Ireland business. He will only be leaving the post in a year’s time, but speculations about his future are already hot.

One of the most interesting suggestions is that he will be heading the Bank of Ireland, where he is already serving as a non-executive director. It will be interesting to see if Paddy Power will be offering odds under Irish gambling laws on his prospects.

Bank headed by a bookie?

Paddy’s CEO is rumored to be heading a bank when he leaves the bookies

• Patrick Kennedy is set to leave Paddy Power in a year’s time

• He is rumored to be a strong candidate for the Bank of Ireland CEO

• His expertise under Irish gambling laws will be an asset for the bank

Naturally, a possibility of a bookie running a bank is exciting even nowadays. Back in the day, even figures from financial sector were hardly considered candidates for a top banking job, let alone sportsbooks executives.

CEO and chairman of Terry Rogers accountancy corporation, Terry Rogers himself was not even in the running for the Irish banking job. And this man is a mathematical genius, not to mention his huge charisma and endless energy.

Should Rogers be in the running for a top job in Irish banking, reporters and industry experts would probably go nuts about this prospect. Even a notion when a bookie is sitting on the board of a bank would have been considered something out of the ordinary, if not completely wrong. Well, not anymore it seems.

Kennedy’s prospects

There are lots of reports on Patrick Kennedy’s prospect of heading the Bank of Ireland in the Irish gambling news. While these reports are newsworthy and informative, they don’t carry any negative feelings or views, confirming the fact that a move from being a bookie to heading a financial institution is no longer an extraordinary thing.

On the other hand, such a move underlines that modern bankers are closer to the betting industry, while bookies themselves are acting more like bankers. And both industries and society is accepting these facts.

What adds to the possibility of such moves is the fact that sportsbooks enjoy fantastic success nowadays, while banks struggle to make ends meet. Moreover, banks have lost a significant portion of assets gambling on various markets, that’s why the prospects of a betting executive coming to rule a bank might be a brilliant idea.

Nowadays, the bookies might be seen as essential service providers to professional investors. At the same time banks are now regarded as blackguards, the roles have changes in a completely opposite direction.

Banking vs gambling

Continuing this train of thought, the current attitude of big sportsbooks towards profits and losses can be best summarized to the latest incident with Ben Affleck, when he was asked to leave a casino due to the fact that he was “counting cards”.

This means that gambling organizations only want those players who have no chance of beating the house. So if a gamer only wants to have fun – they will end up paying for it. Which sounds horrible to a naked ear, but could be a good strategy for banks as well, if they plan to rise from the ashes they currently are in.

Considering all of the above, Kennedy’s move from being a bookie to being a banker is the right one. Moreover, it should’ve happened long ago. Having people with deep understanding of gambling running financial institutions can only bring good to the current banking system.