News

Tuesday, 06 April 2010 07:26

The horseracing industry in Ireland has levelled some harsh words at online gambling company Paddy Power for failing to support the industry when it needs it most.

There have been increasing monetary shortfalls experienced by many of the horse racing venues around Ireland as the economic recession continues to bite. This has led to criticism from the horseracing industry about the way the betting operators are not pulling their weight. Instead, it appears that there is a widening gulf between the betting operators and the horseracing industry in Ireland as a convened committee meeting saw both sides squaring off.

The CEO of Paddy Power, Patrick Kennedy was slammed by a respected member of racing circles for showing what was termed "absolute disdain" for Ireland's racing industry. In an interview published in the Racing Post, Kennedy retorted by saying that while Irish breeding may be world class, the racing is not. He went on to add that he felt Horse Racing Ireland is hiding behind the great success of Ireland's breeding industry.

The basis of the argument is that the Irish government would like the gambling operators to be footing a larger proportion of the cost of Irish racing which is currently surviving mainly on government subsidies. During the good times in the years before the recession struck, tax receipts obtained from gambling paid a fair share of all the costs. However, as receipts have now diminished, the situation has changed and the politicians have failed to keep up with the situation as it is now.

The greatest changes to happen have been in the world of betting. Despite there still being a solid trade from the traditional betting shops in Ireland, where the real growth can be seen is in betting over the Internet and by telephone. Being a mobile market, online betting can be sourced and accessed the world over. Horse Racing Ireland's CEO Brian Kavanagh said that while betting has increased in Ireland to over €4 billion, the level of tax taken by the State has actually decreased from €68 million ten years ago to €31 million today.

It was pointed out by Paddy Power that to stay loyal to Ireland while becoming the gambling operator cash cow for the Irish horseracing industry isn't exactly fair especially when there are online gambling operations that make money in offshore jurisdictions without the same tax burden. Instead, executives for Paddy Power show loyalty to share holders first who are looking at the hard bottom line. It is a fact that horse racing is a viable and necessary industry in Ireland that helps to drive the rural economy. Political solutions therefore must be found as soon as possible to close the gap in taxation and keep people in jobs.