Ireland's Tax Favors Online Casinos

The word is out - Ireland says no to taxing online gambling.

In a hotly debated issue regarding benefits versus pitfalls of taxing the online gambling sector, the Irish Finance Ministry has decided to uphold the government's policy of a zero-tax on online gambling. This they believe will yield significant benefits to the industry and the country.

No tax equals greater opportunity for growth and employment. That's the sentiment of the ministry which feels that tax would serve only to deter online casinos from operating in Ireland's cyberspace. If a tax were imposed, the feeling is that there would be a massive flight of online casino operators to tax-free havens elsewhere.

For now
The decision is not cast in stone and the ministry wants more time to examine the fine print of such a decision. The view is that the employment created by allowing a tax-free haven for online casinos well outweighs the benefits of taxing them.

However, in what is merely a minor adjustment, land-based Irish casinos have had their taxes increased 1% to 2%. This increase does not apply to phone betting.