Ireland Will Impose Tax on Internet Gambling

Ireland says it will start taxing Internet gambling establishments operating overseas and catering to Irish citizens.

"This will have the additional benefit of facilitating the extension of the tax regime for the betting industry to all those providing online and telephone betting and so underpin funding for the racing industry," said Brian Cowen, Irish Head of Government.

Ireland claims that this step is needed in order to secure funding for the racing industry.

Online gambling is a global industry that booms despite many attempts to ban or regulate it and the danger is that Cowen's proposals will unfairly target those few betting firms that choose to locate in Ireland and create jobs here, The Independent suggests.

More fundamentally, that paper points out, Cowen has chosen to persist with a link that is both unnecessary and unjustifiable. The Irish horse industry -- a world leader and a huge employer -- needs to be subsidised, but there is no need to tie that funding to the profits of another industry.

Alistair Prescott, Gambling911.com