Big changes are about to take place at the betting industry in Ireland and this time it will not be for the best for the operators. It is not a coincidence the fact the bookmakers themselves call this new situation a tax apocalypse. The new tax regulations refer that the operators will have to pay a 2 percent of their turnover, instead of the 1 percent that was the bookies’ duty until now! The difference may look slight but when it comes to a low-profit business such as sports betting, this may be a devastating blow to the Irish betting market.
The 1% tax was introduced for the first time in 1999 and had devastating consequences since almost 2.500 betting shops had to close down! Most of the bookmakers are afraid of what this huge change may mean for their operations, but considering that an Irish Bookmakers Association Spokeswoman told these new taxes are a kind of a doomsday for the industry. «The entire sector is devastated, we’ve lost 450 shops in the last eight years, and now as it had just started to stabilize, this change to double the tax will wipe them out…This is going to kill the industry, for a different type of service a localized service, they’ve just made it extinct”. Most of the operators are ready to take actions in order to prevent the new taxes before they go into effect at the first stages of the upcoming year.