Irish egaming bill put before cabinet
Betting Amendment Bill could become law this year " carries 1% turnover tax for online activities
The Irish government could be set to extend a 1% levy on land-based wagers to online gambling bets as soon as this year, after a bill was put before the country’s cabinet yesterday.
The Betting Amendment Bill, first published in 2012, aims to bring betting exchanges and online betting operators within the existing licensing regime and will also include a 15% commission tax on betting exchanges. Companies taking more than 10% of turnover from bookmaking operations or taking 200,000 in bets per year will also be required to obtain a remote gaming licence.
If approved by the Irish authorities, the Bill will go before the European Commission which is expected to take a further three months for final approval. It is estimated to bring in between 15m and 17m in additional revenue, according to The Irish Times.
When introducing the Bill to the Houses of the Oireachtas (the Irish parliament) last year, minister for finance Michael Noonan said the bill would bring into place “a fair and equitable licensing and regulatory regime for all bookmakers and betting intermediaries”.
“The fact that off-shore bookmakers were not subject to the betting levy represented a competitive disadvantage to on-shore firms and also narrowed the state’s yield from the levy,” Noonan added.
The extra revenue generated could be allocated to the Horse and Greyhound fund, which provides finance to Horse Racing Ireland and the Greyhound Board, following budget cuts and a 28% loss of funding since 2008.