IBA misused KPMG report In a bizarre twist to the on-going spat between the Irish Bookmakers Association (IBA) and HRI, the firm commissioned by the bookmakers to produce a report on spending at the semi-state body has directed the IBA to no longer use the report in public arenas. The report compiled by KPMG was instrumental in the IBA’s damming criticism of HRI last week, but the firm has now stated that their work did not provide an appropriate basis for the conclusions drawn and the commentary issued by the IBA. In a letter to both HRI and the IBA, KPMG also say that: ‘KPMG never gave consent for the IBA to use this report for the purposes for which it now appears to have been used. We have written to IBA directing them to cease and desist from the use of the KPMG report.’ Responding to this statement, Horse Racing Ireland CEO Brian Kavanagh said: ‘The IBA has behaved recklessly in their misuse of the KPMG analysis. The IBA used flawed and meaningless figures in a defamatory campaign against Horse Racing Ireland and the Irish racing industry. The IBA would be much better served helping its members to combat the threat to their business and jobs from offshore betting and betting exchanges than attacking Irish racing and making patently false claims against Horse Racing Ireland.’ Kavanagh added: ‘All parties need to work with Government to secure a reasonable return from betting tax and to ensure adequate funding for horse and greyhound racing which sustain viable and successful rural industries. The only way to secure jobs in the betting industry is to create a level playing pitch between all forms of betting which is exactly what HRI has been campaigning for.’
