Irish Betting Bill Ignores Poker

Standalone online poker companies will not be covered in new gambling legislation to be introduced in Ireland.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has published the Betting (Amendment) Bill which explicitly covers offshore online bookmakers and betting exchanges.

The bill makes no mention of online poker which means standalone online poker operators such as PokerStars will not have to pay the one percent levy which will be imposed on offshore bookmakers and betting exchanges. However many online bookmakers offering their services to Irish citizens have poker as part of their product mix and this is likely to be covered by the levy.

The bill updates the 1931 Betting Act and Noonan said, “This bill will bring into place a fair and equitable licensing and regulatory regime for all bookmakers and betting intermediaries. This bill, once enacted, will allow for the extension of betting duty to remote bookmakers and will ensure that all bookmakers activities offered in the State are taxed equally.

“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.

“In addition, there is significant down stream revenue potential from investment by major firms that have expressed strong interest in Ireland as a base for their operations.”

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