The Irish government, to the dismay of its bookmakers, has failed to get a tax cut on the betting duty required of Irish punters. As one source explained it, "Word on the street is that the Irish government is waiting to see what the U.K. government does in this area." Bookmakers have been pressing for the betting duty to drop from its current 5 percent to somewhere in the 0 to 2 percent range.
With no promise that the Irish betting duty will drop, at least one bookmaker is ready to move its Internet services offshore. Paddy Power, Ireland's biggest bookmaker, has said that a decision is pending and likely to be announced in February. If the bookmaker does make the move offshore, several low-tax havens are being considered, including Malta and Jersey, The Irish Times reported. Such a move would cost the Irish government millions of pounds in lost taxes.
Even worse, other Irish bookmakers would probably follow Paddy Power offshore. "A reduction in betting duty could have attracted significant investment into Ireland," said Brian O'Farrell, the administrator of the Irish Independent Betting Offices Association.
There's hope, nonetheless, that the betting tax could eventually be lowered. The duty could be dropped through the Finance Act, the final version of the budget, which will be passed into law early in 2001.