Operators brace for possible hike in gambling tax in Ireland

The government is reportedly considering a rise in the tax on customer stakes.

Ireland.- Betting operators in Ireland are urging the government to hold off from raising gambling tax in the 2027 budget. According to Irish media, the government is considering raising the current 2 per cent tax on customer stakes from next year in addition to the previously announced plan to increase pool betting duty from 1 to 2 per cent.

The rise would reportedly apply to both online and retail betting. The aim would be to increase tax revenue from the sector to help balance Ireland’s 2027 budget, which reportedly includes €7bn in public spending and €1.5bn in tax reductions,

The Irish Bookmakers Association has criticised the proposal. As reported by Racing Post, the trade body warned that higher duties would trigger more betting shop closures and job losses as well as more illegal activity. It claims the doubling of betting duty from 1 per cent to 2 per cent in 2019 resulted in 222 shop closures and “roughly 1,000 retail jobs” lost.

In a submission to Finance Minister Simon Harris, the IBA cautioned: “Every euro of additional cost on a licensed operator has to be recovered somewhere, usually through reduced odds and reduced value for customers. Unlicensed operators recover nothing, because they pay no duty, no levy and no compliance cost, and they offer none of the consumer protections that licensed operators are required to provide.”

Nevertheless, it’s hard to determine the extent to which tax was responsible for the closure of Irish betting shops since the trend also reflects the general shift from retail to online betting seen in other jurisdictions. Major bookmakers have already announced waves of fresh closures this year long before any new tax rise has been announced. Entain announced plans to close a third of Ladbrokes betting shops in Ireland back in April, and Flutter says it’s currently deliberating on up to 100 Paddy Power closures across the UK and Ireland.

All the same, Anthony Kaminskas, founder of Dublin‑based AK BETS, has described the current turnover tax as “already punitive”. Writing on LinkedIn, he warned that raising it further would leave regulated operators with only three choices: drop sports betting and focus on casino products, offer “awful prices” on sports bets, or impose “a tax on their bets” such as a €100 stake costing €105. He argued that each scenario would push consumers to the black market by making the regulated sector uncompetitive.

That said, the Irish Times has reported that Stewart Kenny, co‑founder of Paddy Power, has called for a 40 per cent tax on online betting and casino revenue in Ireland.

By Focus Gaming News Editorial Team