__________________________________________________________________________
Irish Bookmakers Association
Founded in April 2005, the IBA is the largest representative body of the bookmaking industry in Ireland. Its membership comprises about 700 of the 1248 betting shops in Ireland.
The association has a broad-based membership in that it represents major operators including Ladbrokes, William Hill, Boylesports, Celtic, Hacketts and Bruce Betting, in addition to a strong mix of independent operators.
Licensed Betting Offices have seen their share of the overall national betting market has fall from 91% in 1999 to an estimated 50% in 2007. At the same time, telephone, internet, egaming.com sites, betting exchanges, mobile betting and private members clubs have all grown substantially and are now estimated to be the biggest growth areas in the betting industry. A similar phenomenon was evident in the UK before the introduction of Gross Profits Tax (GPT) there.
On average it is estimated that each office employs five people on a full-time or part-time basis. This translates into total employment of around 6,200 full-time or part-time jobs. This is equivalent to almost 0.3% of total employment in the economy, and 0.6% of total private service sector employment. Source Jim Power M.Econ.Sc
Based on these numbers:
Total gross wage bill paid is estimated at €137 million.
PAYE and PRSI paid on these earnings estimated at €34 million.
Total net wage bill estimated at €103 million.
Assuming an income multiplier effect, this net income translates into total spending of €206 million in the broader economy.
Net profit of betting industry before tax estimated at €100 million.
Income tax paid by betting industry estimated at €25 million.
VAT paid by industry estimated at €5.75 million.
Total annual rates paid by licensed betting offices estimated at €2.75 million.
The betting tax collected by the licenced betting offices estimated at €36.5 million.
The IBA’s primary concern is that Irish Retail Bookmakers (LBOs) do not operate on a level playing field with the non-retail sector as the latter is able to offer customers tax-free betting and gaming without any deduction.
Contact information
E-mail: info@irishbookmakersassociation.com
Tel: 046 9557090
Mobile: 087 4181408
