The Irish Online Gambling Act is back on the agenda and it has reached the President’s desk. After years of delays and debates, the Finance Minister Michael Noonan revealed that once the President signs the Act it will become a valid law.
Noonan also added that after the bill is signed it would be implemented by the end of the first six months of the year. The country expects to get millions of Euros in revenue, but it will also stir many controversies because of the regulators’ intentions to increase the taxes.
This information comes at a time when many popular UK gambling operators such as William Hill and Ladbrokes are trying to meet new requirements imposed by the Point of Consumption tax. However, this topic is nothing new since the tax increase of online operators has been cooking for the past four years now.
In any case, it is expected for the new levy to be imposed as soon as licensed operators in other countries succeed in obtaining all approvals that will allow them to operate on the Irish gambling market.
According to a representative of the finance department, operators that want to provide services on Irish territory will have to pay the new taxes from the middle of 2015 onwards. The tax amount operators have to pay in order to target Irish players is 1% of their betting turnover along with retail betting taxes. Operators that provide wagering and betting options for smartphones and tablets will also have to pay the previously mentioned taxes.
Major bookmakers and gambling operators are very dissatisfied with the attempts to increase the levy. One of the operators has even made a statement that the tax would cost the company head spinning €8 million.