Ireland’s Betting Tax to Remain at 1%

The Irish government and the country’s minister of finance, Paschal Donohoe, have declined to enforce inflation of a tax on betting operators’ revenue. The tax will be kept at the current rate of 1%.

An uproar of convulsion recently by the key names in the country’s gambling industry demanded for taxes to be kept at the current level because, as they stated, any further increase of taxes could mean a potential permanent closure and loss of many jobs. Thirteen gambling companies have filed in a complaint against the proposed tax increase.

There were, in fact, three different tax proposals at the government’s table. One suggesting that tax should be boosted from 1% to 2% (this one garnered the biggest popularity by far among government officials), the second was the option of taxing the bettor, but was dropped due to the conclusion that bettors would simply find a way of playing via alternative, untaxed channels and unlicensed operators. The third proposal suggested a tax on bookmaking firms’ gross profits, which was dismissed by minister Donohoe himself who believes this gambling bill would need a significant amount of work before it could be put into legislature.

Finally, it was decided in favor of keeping the betting revenue tax at 1%. The official statement from Ireland’s Ministry of Finance said: “The Minister received a number of submissions for possible inclusion in Budget 2018. He took the decision that any potential actions on foot of the Betting Tax Review should be considered as part of Budget 2019.”