What Happens Now?

Online betting tax confirmed. Exchanges confirmed. Dust settling.

Leaving aside the bookmakers, because to be honest I (personally) dont care, most of my betting is through Betfair. And in all likelihood logic says the bookmakers will absorb it, although it remains to be seen.

What about Betfair though. Tax turnover? Tax winnings? Tax every bet? Tax every lay (as in people acting like bookmakers), hows that fair towards backers though? When you go on holiday and bet, are you still subject to tax because youre not in Ireland at the time the bet is stuck? Increase commission? What happens when youre obviously betting with people who arent from Ireland, that bet will fall under the tax marked bets, but only for one person and not for the other?

On the face of it, it seems totally unworkable. But here we are with it in the Budget anyway.

My biggest issue, and plenty will disagree but thats fine, is not the actual tax itself, its the tax going to the HRI when you bet on soccer, GAA, boxing, cricket, snooker, the list goes on. Incredibly annoying. It will help Irish racing I'm told, but what about the people who bet on soccer and dont give a flying fook about racing, and are being taxed. I like racing, but hows that fair?! This is coming from the 25th of July when RTE news said "all online betting will be taxed in Ireland to fund horse racing."

As I said, I like racing, but when I bet on say GAA and am taxed, I think its only fair the tax should go to the GAA, why should horse racing be entitled to revenue generated from something that has nothing to do with them. Simple really.

But we have to wait and see what Betfair say/do. Tax turnover/every bet stuck I know I have to move, tax winnings will be fairly alright if only annoying. The annoying thing being sit on a plane for 30mins, land in England, and not get taxed.

Anyway the show goes on until we know. Picture every bet or turnover, being €100 green and paying €200 in tax, dont think that will happen though. Obviously the natural reaction is to want to leave purely because youre subject to something that is fixable by moving. Thats more something to say rather than something to do isnt it. IMO I think it'll be commission on winnings going up, but we shall see.

Either way the situation with tax on Betfair is just a farce really and leaves everything up in the air. Hopefully we dont end up like France..

(All IMO of course, as is everything written here anyway).