On Ireland’s Online Gambling Industry

With the rise of online gambling, probably every corner of the world has been venturing in the said industry, and many more are making their moves to legalize online gambling in their respective places. As much as the government would push the disadvantages of online gambling – like gambling addiction and probable frauds – it is still undeniable that this said industry could possibly bring great revenues to a country. That has been the hold of online gamblers in what seems to be a very long debate on online gambling’s legalization.

However, in Ireland, their country’s online gambling industry is way far behind and probably, you could say, is living in the past. Their gambling industry remains regulated by the Betting Act of 1931, “an act to make provision for the better regulation and control of persons engaged in the business of bookmaking, and for that and other purposes to amend the law relating to betting and betting-houses”; and the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956, “an act to amend the law relating to gaming and lotteries”. These laws barred Ireland to make online gambling possible within Ireland, making it quite a waste for Ireland’s big contribution in the online gambling industry.

According to the co-director of Gaming and Leisure Association, David Hickson, Ireland has “a great opportunity to expand into the online casino sector”. This means that Ireland is a potential country to operate online casinos but are just really prohibited to be so because of their online gambling laws.

If only Ireland would make a move, like the US, to legalize online gambling in their country, they could possibly provide approximately 5,000 new jobs and can give their employees a worthy salary for them to enjoy. Also, this could be a good avenue, like other countries, for Ireland to get good revenues by placing the right percentage of tax on the possible online casinos that they could produce.

And if Ireland would make a move, they should move now or they might lose a big opportunity in online gambling now that every country is starting to, also, make a move about it.