© Photo Healy Racing
For long time Ireland has been a great place for businesses. Massive companies like Apple and Google have set up their European Headquarters on the island thanks to favourable corporate taxation laws. But things are changing and are changing fast especially for gambling companies: Ireland’s taxmen are after gambling operators that have failed to pay the required taxes and those who are running their businesses without the correct licenses.
Gambling industry in Ireland
The gambling industry in Ireland is big business as there are more than 6,000 people working in betting shops and another 1,000 are working in the head offices of the companies that have settled here. The Irish have always been horse racing punters but in recent years this has changed significantly with the arrival of online betting and gambling in general. ‘Nowadays you might come to a bookmaker site because you want to place a flutter on a horse and being immediately bombarded by gaming ads that are pushing you to have a cheeky punt on their online casino’ said Ethan Rowe, editor in chief at casino bonus leading aggregator website. ‘In addition to that punters also have access to all markets around the world and it doesn’t really matter what time of the day or day of the week it is’.
Online Gambling has never been banned in Ireland and the Betting (Amendment) Act of 2015 has officially legalised it. Of course one of the biggest passions in Irish sports is horse racing: there are 26 horse racing tracks in the country and they do attract a lot of attention both nationally and internationally. Racing is without doubt the most popular sport for betting by Irish punters and there have always been bookmakers taking bets at horse racing venues. It is ingrained in the Irish society.
Ireland is the home country of massive betting operators like Paddy Power and BoyleSports. The first named firm has become one of the leaders in European sports betting after they have acquired a majority stake in Betfair in 2016. This merger was close to £5bn and has so far been very positive for both brands.
Paddy Power Betfair are also looking to the other side of the pond now that sports betting looks set to be legalised in the American market.
Casinos however have been operating in somewhat of a grey area for years. The Gambling Control Bill of 2013 was set to change this but has been bogged-down for the last five year and it is hoped that a New Scheme proposed in 2018 will finally bring clear legislation. There is to be a cap of 40 casino licenses being available at any one time in the state and a casino is not allowed to have more than 15 tables and 25 machines. The rationale behind this law is to avoid Las Vegas-style mega casinos to form in the country.
Recent Gambling Issues
The last few years have been good for Gambling Operators in Ireland but things look set to change. The revenue commissioners have started to go aggressively after those operators that were not paying their full tax obligations and those who are operating in the country without having the right licenses. Their work has paid off as they have been able to regain €970,000 in unpaid taxes and another €793,000 from licenses fees.
Gaming machines have also been targeted like video blackjack, poker and roulette games. Gaming machines are not permitted in a bookmaking premises or a premises licensed for the sale of intoxicating liquor.
More than 300 cases led to criminal prosecutions and also the machines were sized.
Gaming operators are complaining
The gaming industry has responded by saying that the government agency is not operating under transparent gambling regulatory laws. Their point is that lots of the regulations are vague and can be interpreted in different ways which has caused the confusion. The director of Ireland’s Gaming and Leisure Association, David Hickson, said that the law dates back to 1956 and has to be updated. Despite those claims the Revenue Commissioners haven’t slowed down their work and it looks like similar actions will continue in the future.
The 1956 law states that the maximum stake on a gaming machine is 6d and the maximum payout is 10 shillings.
The new version of the 2013 Gambling Control Bill is not expected to pass into law until 2019 at the earliest.
