Irish Betting Not so Lucky

Slots fans in Ireland are safe for now, unlike their sports bookie friends. Irish tax laws are changing as we speak, and while it’s true that sports bookies will see an unfortunate 1% tax increase this year, many are happy that it won’t be applying to online and telephone activity, even if it is betting. What’s interesting about this is that the tax rules almost seem to encourage people to stay in the comfort of their home in order to avoid paying taxes! That sounds like a no brainer. Stay home. Save money. Bet the same.

Perhaps a reason that online slots and betting are safe for now is that nobody really knows how to effectively regulate the online casino and betting industries. Some countries that are allowing it are happily benefitting from the tax revenue and would like to do what they can in order to preserve that money. Other countries seem to avoid the entire issue by banning the financial transactions that go with the activity in the first place.

Either way, Ireland is seeking to preserve its good terms with the online industry, and so far its decision to exempt it from paying taxes seems like the best move to make. In the meantime, the betting industry is huge in Ireland, and it is a definite sign of the somber financial times when the entire country sees taxes go up, and even the pay rate for government officials goes down, along with the income of the rest of the country. Now that’s solidarity!