Group Chief Executive Officer, Ig Holdings
Search every verified Breon Corcoran interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Breon Corcoran, Group Chief Executive Officer at Ig Holdings, has spoken about the relationship between betting exchanges and horse racing. In a 2021 address, he noted that Betfair, where he previously served, was the first online operator to voluntarily sign a commercial deal with British racing, committing to a minimum of £40 million over five years. He stated that in the company's early years, approximately 70% of its revenues came from horse racing, a figure that decreased over time amid overall business growth. Corcoran described the betting exchange as a trading product that offers customers incremental value after they place bets, and he characterized the relationship between wagering and racing as mutually beneficial. In a 2011 appearance, Corcoran, then chief operations officer at Paddy Power, discussed Ireland's potential as a global e-commerce hub. He said that the government needed to recognize the value of quality employment in the sector and that traditional thinking about funding smaller industries, such as horse racing, through taxes on global businesses was not necessarily conducive to attracting top firms. He also observed that Ireland had two economies—a domestic economy and outward-facing businesses—and expressed hope that companies targeting a global market could drive job creation.
“In the early years some 70 percent of our revenues came from horse racing that number has decreased a little but that has been in the time of enormous growth for the business.”
“We were the first online operator to voluntarily sign up to a commercial deal with British racing and we did that because our customers and indeed our shareholders needed certainty. We made a commitment to a minimum of 40 million pounds over five years this is all based on horse race wagering and this is not just a com...”
“It does feel like the moment that there's two Irelands, there's two economies in Ireland. There's the domestic economy and there's the outward-facing businesses. The hope that I'm hearing and there's a considerable amount of it around at the minute is from companies that are trying to target a more global market.”
“The government generally needs to realize that some investment is required and that a thoughtful approach to cultivating this smart economy and critically this is quality employment is needed. And therefore thinking perhaps excessively traditional thinking about the funding of smaller industries such as the horse racin...”
'Ireland can be a global e-commerce hub' says Paddy Power's chief operations officer Breon Corcoran For more information visit ...
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