[5] Paddy Power had an aggressive expansion strategy involving opening prominent shops in most Irish towns, rather than side streets previously favoured.

[10] After English Premier League new entrants Stoke City lost their opening game of the 2008–09 season 3–1 to Bolton Wanderers, Paddy Power controversially paid out on bets on them being relegated.

The company boss said: 'New Zealand have left all of their opposition so far feeling black and blue and it's inevitable us bookies will be taking a hammering from them on Sunday too, so punters might as well collect now.'

[26] Paddy Power has drawn criticism for offering controversial markets, such as odds on the first species to be driven to extinction by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico,[27] on a prospective assassination of United States President Barack Obama,[28][29] and on the potential extinction of the polar bear in December 2009.

[32] Paddy Power also received hundreds of complaints and was accused of transphobia by members of the LGBT community in February 2012 when the company released an advertising campaign to distinguish "the stallions from the mares" by placing transgender women in the crowds at the Cheltenham Festival.

In May 2009, when Shane Lowry won the Irish Open, it stated that it would not pay out on the 3000/1 odds which it had mistakenly offered and instead reached 'an arrangement' with the customers involved.

[35] During a UEFA Euro 2012 match between Denmark and Portugal on 13 June 2012, Danish forward Nicklas Bendtner celebrated his second goal by lowering his shorts and lifting his shirt to reveal a pair of Paddy Power underpants, leading to criticism from the national team's sponsor Ladbrokes and tournament organisers UEFA.

[36][37][38] In early March 2014, 5,525 complaints, the most ever recorded, were made to the United Kingdom Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) via an online petition launched for Paddy Power to withdraw an offer for betting on the outcome of the South African trial of Oscar Pistorius for murder of his girlfriend.

[42] Prior to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Paddy Power posted a photo on its Twitter account, sourced from Reddit, allegedly showing an overhead view of a Brazilian rainforest with the message "C'MON ENGLAND PP" spelled out by the former locations of trees that had been cut down.

Following major criticisms over the advert from users, it was revealed on 8 June 2014 that the images were fake, and part of a campaign by Paddy Power to promote its anti-deforestation charity effort.

[44] In September 2017, Paddy Power offered odds on a dead footballer, Ugo Ehiogu, to become the new manager of Birmingham City F.C.

Paddy Power claimed the stunt was to raise awareness of the plight of polar bears in the Russian Arctic.

[47] In December 2018, Paddy Power and William Hill faced further criticism after allegations that they allowed a gambling addict to wager thousands of pounds in stolen cash.