Sports betting is very popular in Ireland. With a population of less than five million people, gambling revenues exceed a billion euros, of which a third is accounted for by bookmakers. The lottery shows a high yield commensurate with the BC. If we talk about the funds involved in the gaming industry, it is almost six billion euros. Websites top online casino ireland https://top-irish-casino.com/
At the same time, the lottery remains the most popular gambling game among local residents. Almost half of the adult population of the country buys lottery tickets – this is an admirable example of doing business. About one in five people turn to bookmakers, but the profitability of this industry, as mentioned earlier, is much higher. So bookmakers take not quantity, but quality.
The Irish bet mainly on football, cricket, rugby, dog and horse racing. Since 2015, bookmakers have been legally allowed to accept online bets. According to forecasts, the growth of this gambling business sector in the next two or three years should grow at least twice.
At the same time, the Irish authorities have nothing against foreign bookmakers, although ideally they, like local bookmakers, should get a license.
Ground offices
Until recently, land offices were considered the most profitable enterprises in the Irish gaming sector. In the noughties, fifteen hundred bookmakers flourished on the Green Island, that is, one for every three thousand people – few countries can boast of such a density of coverage. But the development of online betting has dealt a heavy blow to land-based offices. Since 2012-13, their number has been steadily decreasing, as many of their owners have diversified their efforts into the online sector. Already in 2014, the number of land-based offices crossed the psychological mark of a thousand and continues to fall.
Taxation of local betting
Irish bookmakers were lucky with taxes. Only one percent from each rate, in the UK it is 15%. On the other hand, the license is not cheap – about 250 thousand euros annually. Although if the office does not receive high revenues, the license fees to the budget can be much more modest. Thus, the state collects a progressive tax from the BC. Despite the high cost of the license, several dozen are issued every year.
Boylesports
Paddy Power and Boylesports
These are the two largest bookmakers in Ireland. However, they are widely known beyond its borders. Paddy Power has become famous throughout the sports world for its controversial betting policy and provocative advertising. Not so much the strangeness of the bets, but their subtext made the name of this Irish office famous. For example, bets that the polar bear will become extinct by 2009. For some, such assumptions cause bewilderment and annoyance.
Anyway, Paddy Power has achieved its goal. The office is popular not only at home, but also in the UK. So much so that in 2016 it merged with the English Betfair.
Boylesports is the second most important bookmaker in the island state. Almost every third land office in the country belongs to it, according to this indicator they are leading in Ireland. From 2008 to 2013, the office was an official partner of the Irish Football League. The office also goes outside the island. She was the official sponsor of the English "Sunderland" and "Aston Villa". Boylesports also sponsors dog racing and horse racing.
The Future of Irish Betting
Given the huge demand for gambling services in Ireland, the market will still show growth. We should expect the adoption of a law that will finally settle all the controversial issues that have arisen during the unrestrained development of the gambling industry in the new century. It is possible that the tax on bookmakers will be higher than the current one, because we are facing the successful development of betting in other European countries with a much greater tax burden.
And Ireland is waiting for state intervention in the fight against the growing ludomania. Players who do not control their emotions, who are considered to be addicted to the game (about 2% of the population) bring about a third of all bookmakers ' income. The bill, which has not yet been adopted, provides for the creation of a fund at the expense of the offices themselves, the funds of which will be used for the treatment of gambling addiction.
Eleena Timmons