Irish studio Playhouse Studios is launching a feature film about Paddy Power, a Dublin bookmaker that grew into an international gambling business. The announcement came on November 2, 2026.
The screenplay is based on journalist Aaron Rogan's book Punters: How Paddy Power Bet Billions and Changed Gambling Forever, published in 2021. Dale Longmore and John Quinn wrote the script together with Brian Darnin. Director Matt Lipsey previously worked on Ted Lasso.
The main cast includes Aidan Gillen, known for Game of Thrones, Brian Gleeson, Colm Mini and Alex Murphy. Gillen played Petyr Baelish there, aka Littlefinger.
At the center of the story are Paddy Power co-founder and his former CEO Stuart Kenny. According to the synopsis, the film shows how the company bet on loud advertising and took online gambling and addiction to the global market. It will also cover the company's growth and the development of the gambling industry.
The film focuses on the brand's history. Rogan links the relevance of the adaptation to the growth of the US gambling market.
No release date has been announced. The next step will be an announcement of a premiere or the start of filming, with no timing yet. The film is the first project from Playhouse Studios' original screenplay slate, the studio that financed Lemonade starring Barry Keoghan, which premiered at TIFF 2026.
