Paddy Power, the Irish bookmaker that offers odds on everything from the American elections to Spanish bullfighting, is to open betting shops in Manchester and Glasgow with the aim of doubling its British estate over the next three years.

The group, which specialises in humorous and unusual bets and irreverent advertising, said that it planned to take advantage of recent deregulation to expand its existing estate of 58 shops in the UK, all of them in the London area, to at least 120 shops.

The Gambling Act, which was brought in last year, swept away the so-called “demand test” for new licences, under which a bookmaker had to prove local demand for more betting facilities.

Patrick Kennedy, Paddy Power's chief executive, described the old laws as “inherently anti-competitive”. He said that the group had a pipeline of sites in Manchester and Glasgow and expected to spend £250,000 on each new opening, down from £350,000 a site when it first came to Britain almost five years ago.

He added that the company was monitoring other locations in the UK, including Northern Ireland.

He said that the company continued to look at opportunities to expand its internet operation internationally after its €6 million (£4.6 million) investment in Spanish and German-language websites, even though a law change forced it to suspend its German site.

Mr Kennedy said that he would be interested in France if it were to liberalise its gaming laws.

The group's unusual marketing approach - it persuaded a Tongan player to change his name by deed poll to Paddy Power for the duration of the Rugby World Cup - helped it to lift 2007 pre-tax profits by 53 per cent to €75.8 million.

The gross win - the amount left behind by the punter - was 28 per cent higher, at €279 million. Its retail gross win was 39 per cent higher, while its online business underwent growth of 44 per cent.

Its internet unit was helped by the growth of “in-running” - bets made after a race or match has started. This accounts for 40 per cent of its non-retail business.

The group was helped by the eviction of Ireland from the Rugby World Cup after the group stages and the victory of Silver Birch, a 33-1 shot outsider, in the Grand National.

Paddy Power is known for paying out early on high-profile bets. Punters who bet on Barack Obama to win the Democratic nomination for the US presidential election were paid out after the Iowa caucus.

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