The Irish government rejected a proposal to increase the current tax rate of 1% on the income paid by bookmakers in the country, due to objections from industry representatives.
Irish Minister of Finance Paschal Donohoe, presented three legislative acts that could potentially attract about 50 million euros from local bookmakers. The first act was to increase the current tax rate from 1 to 2%. The second is a tax that would prevent “players from switching to unlicensed operators”. The third option envisaged the introduction of a special tax on the gross profit of bookmakers.
Following the news about the potential increase of the current betting tax, the Irish Department of Finance received 13 submissions against the proposal. Eight of these came from betting industry stakeholders and two were filed by the country’s horse racing industry. The other were submitted by a service advocating for the interests of gambling addicts and by individuals.