The national horse racing body of Ireland – Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) – has proposed an increase in the rate of betting duty and commission on operators’ gross profits.
The authority, which currently oversees the local horse racing industry, has made a submission to the betting tax review carried out of the Department of Finance. According to Horse Racing Ireland, the betting tax in the country should be boosted from 1% of bookmakers’ registered yearly sales to a total of 2.5%, with the extra charge being distributed to customers.
This used to be the case until 2006, when the Government decided to cut the tax. The leading sports betting operators have insisted on the local authorities maintain the current 1% levy and no additional tax to be placed on players’ bets, but Horse Racing Ireland opposed to this request. According to the horse racing body, there should also be an increase in the 15% commission on gross profits in betting exchanges. HRI insisted that the commission should be increased to 37.5%, with the increase being on the account of players.
At the time when the local Government reduced the betting duty rate to 1% in 2006, liability was transferred from the punter. According to Horse Racing Ireland, this approach did not turn out to be successful. The horse racing body insists that an increase to the beting duty tax to 2.5% would result in around €125 million generated in the public’s interest over the first full year after a potential increase is imposed.
Brian Kavanagh, the head of Horse Racing Ireland, commented on the group’s suggestion, saying that even if the betting tax is increased from 1% to 2.5% Ireland would still feature one of the lowest betting tax rates on a global scale. Also, according to Mr. Kavanagh, the tax increase would be of best interest to the public. He further added that the duty date would be beneficial for the industry, as it would allow an increase of the horse racing funding.
Ireland’s Department of Finance published details of its proposed review of the country’s betting tax system in May 2017. Also, as part of the review, the Department has called local operators to provide their opinions on the current betting tax regime applied to online bookmakers and betting exchanges.
Horse Racing Ireland is not the only group that has made a recommendation on the Government’s review of local betting taxes. As Casino Guardian has reported a few days ago, the Irish Government has been reviewing the tax regime of the country. Recently, the Irish Bookmakers Association (IBA) has called for a fair betting tax regime that would also be competitive enough on a global scale.
The Irish Bookmakers Association has also insisted that a decline has been experienced by Irish retail bookmaking industry over the past decade. The decline was not only registered in the reported stakes, but also in the number of retail betting shops. This was one of the main reasons why the Association suggested a fair betting tax system to be created, recommending that the current turnover tax should be reduced from 1% to 0.25% for certain betting outlets that generate an annual revenue estimated to a maximum of €2 million.
- Author
Daniel Williams
