A number of well-known Irish actors are set to star in a new film about Paddy Power’s rise in the gambling industry.

Variety reported on Monday that Brian Gleeson, Colm Meaney, Aidan Gillen, and Alex Murphy will lead the cast, with Ted Lasso’s Matt Lipsey tapped to direct.

Irish media production company Playhouse Studios is behind the film, which will be based on award-winning journalist Aaron Rogan’s 2021 book, Punters: How Paddy Power Bet Billions and Changed Gambling Forever.

Simply called ‘Paddy Power’, the film will document the rise of the gambling giant.

Long-time writing duo Dale Longmore and John Quinn will adapt Rogan’s book, while Spilt Milk’s Brian Durnin will help them write the script.

Paddy Power’s synopsis explains that it will recount the ‘crazy true story of how one man bet big on brash advertising and brought online gambling – and addiction – to every corner of the globe’.

It added: ‘An inherently Irish origin story, it claws open the lid of how a few chancers changed the world as we know it, destroying hundreds of thousands of people’s lives forever.’

Playhouse CEO Peggy Cafferty said: ‘Paddy Power stood out immediately as a story with real scale, authentic dark humour, grit and tenacity. You could not make up this incredible story.

‘Aaron Rogan’s voice made the book such an easy, engaging read and we feel the writing team captured the adaptation brilliantly. This is the extraordinary rise of one company that refused to play by the rules and set out on a path of ambition, risk and consequence.

‘They stepped outside the norms of marketing with brilliant twists and always with wit. We are thrilled with this exceptional creative team and cast, this is a fearless production and a narrative that resonates with audiences far beyond Ireland – everyone loves a great, true story that’s as dramatic as fiction.’

Rogan also commented on the film, saying that he was ‘delighted that Peggy and the team at Playhouse see the same value in the Paddy Power story that I have since I started reporting on them a decade ago’.

He added: ‘It’s an Irish story with global appeal and the growth of the gambling industry in the US in recent years makes this adaptation all the more timely.’