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Irish Bookmakers Association Calls on new Government to implement IBA budget submission, which could create over 3000 jobs

Our association in conjunction with Tony Foley, Head of Economics -DCU have prepared a blueprint for 3000 new jobs, and saving thousands of existing jobs. We urge the new Government to give our proposal some consideration as these jobs can be created without any investment from the Governement, and can be created relatively quickly. To read the paper created by Tony Foley please click here.

Massive Job Losses on Monthly basis - Unlicensed Operators Flourish

1325 Jobs Lost - 265 Betting Shops Closed - Over €30,000,000 Lost in Direct Taxes - Local Economies Hit

Hundreds of jobs are being lost each month as a Turnover tax, excessive high street rents and archaic legislation prevent bookmakers from competing with unlicensed operators and online/mobile operators.

With Off-shore Online and Mobile companies betting into the Irish market, virtually tax free, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it makes the survival of Independent betting shops very difficult.

We are calling on the Government to complete the new legislation , and ensure the the entire gambling industry is regulated fairly and that the social responsibility practices implemented by Irish betting shops is enforced on all operators. We must ensure that the legislation allows us to develop and modernise our shops in line with all other businesses, to create a level playing field and allow us to sustain the 6000+ jobs in our Industry.
See the stats by clicking here...

HRI response to criticism is Pure Spin

The increases in HRI spending that the IBA has exposed range from 56.6% to over 660%. HRI has attempted to justify increases in spending by saying that fixtures have increased by 33% between 1998 and 2008, but the massive increases in spending are out of all proportion with the modest increase in fixture numbers.

To see Factual responses from IBA in direct response to Spin from HRI please click here....

Taxation Contribution per shop:
As an illustrative example, an average licensed betting office makes the following contribution to the national exchequer and the local authority in which it is located:

Turnover 3,000,000
Gross Profit (@10%)300,000
Net Profit (@3%) 90,000
Betting Tax (@ 1%) 30,000
PAYE/PRSI 20,000
VAT 20,000
Rates 7,500
Corporation Tax 11,250
Total Taxation 88,750

Taxation as a % of profit 98.6%

Under 18's - Look 21!
The IBA have created several posters for betting shops to display which prevents the admission of persons under the age of 18 onto the premises.

I would urge all members to be extra vigilant, and to operate a 'Look 21' policy. This would require staff to ask all persons that look under the age of 21 for id, to ensure they are over 18.
Please contact me for copies.

DSAC - Dunlewey Substance Advice Centre
The DSAC Freephone is up and running now, and members are advised to ensure all promotional material relating to this service is displaying the correct Freephone number: 1800 93 67 25

I will be organising a DSAC training day in the near future. If you are interested in attending, or would like a refresher course for your staff, please contact me.