Online Casino News and Gambling News

April 9, 2009 - Irish Minister Threatens To Ban Online Gambling Companies

The Irish Sports Minister, Martin Cullen, has caused a disturbance in Internet gambling companies in the country after threatening to ban Internet betting unless the companies contribute more money to the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund.

Cullen intends reducing government contributions to the fund by over one point five million Euro for this year and says Internet gambling companies would have to contribute more to the fund.

"It is not sustainable to continue to support this fund from the Exchequer" said Cullen. "The big players will need to come to the plate. A view will need to be formed about Internet and offshore betting. I will use whatever legal levers are available to me to get some tax out of it".

Irish gambling firms are worried that many jobs will be lost in the industry if the government places the planned 0.5% levy on their businesses.

Paddy Power, a powerful Irish online betting group, has objected to Cullen's views as it feels that theirs is not an Irish business but an international one and that by the end of this year 80% of their customers will be from overseas.

Paddy Power believes that the government's demands to contribute to this fund is unfair as Irish horse racing accounts for only 16% of its turnover.

It has recently been revealed by The Sunday Independent newspaper that almost 70 million Euros will be made available to the fund by the government.

The Paddy Power spokesman feels that HRI is way overfunded compared to other countries and is curious to know what has happened to the 545 million Euro they have received over the past eight years in direct grants.

 

 

More Casino Articles and Gambling News

• Online Casinos and Other Forms of Online Gambling
• Flat Jockeys Championship Title To Be Sponsored By 32Red Online Casino
• Online Gambling Sites Taking Bets on Lindsay Lohan Doing Porn
• New Era Of Casino Gaming Approaches
• A Mobile Surprise For Horse Racing Fans
• Online Gambling Provides New Business Opportunities Globally