Irish sports bodies continue to question betting tax distribution
Minister for sport Thomas Byrne says “numerous sporting organisations” proposed a fairer distribution of tax.
Ireland.- The minister for sport Thomas Byrne has said that “numerous sporting organisations” in Ireland have put forward proposals for what they believed would be a “fairer distribution” of betting taxes. However, he said that conversations with the Ministry of Finance back in 2021 had ruled out the proposals.
Byrne was responding to written questions from Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy. She also put questions to minister for finance Michael McGrath regarding Ireland’s Horse and Greyhound Fund and the distribution of betting tax income. The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has proposed a review of the area.
The government says that income from betting tax is not ring-fenced for the state’s contribution to the Horse and Greyhound Fund, which supported the sports’ governing bodies to the tune of €1.5bn between 2001 and 2021.
In McGrath’s response, he said: “The deputy should note that the yield goes directly to the Exchequer. There is no distribution to any organisation. The way in which Exchequer funding, including to the Horse and the Greyhound Fund, is allocated is decided as part of the annual estimates process which is a matter for my colleagues, the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.”
Brendan Gleeson, secretary general of the Department for Agriculture, has made the same point, noting that “part of the justification” for the sum allocated to the Horse and Greyhound Fund is that it’s “more or less” covered by the betting tax.
He said: “It’s not a strict process of hypothecation but it’s part of the policy picture that supports the investment of these sectors.”
Byrne said the FAI was not the only organisation that enquired about spreading of the betting tax levy.
He said: “The possibility to augment the current betting levy regime for the purposes of partially funding the drive to increased sports participation continues to be raised by the sports sector and numerous sporting organisations have made proposals in recent years for what they feel would be a fairer distribution of the fund.
“In late 2021, my department engaged with the Department of Finance regarding such proposals. The Department of Finance advised that money raised from betting duties goes into general Exchequer funds rather than being ring-fenced for particular purposes.
“Funding to sport has grown very significantly in the lifetime of this government and we are on track to meet the commitment set out in 2018 to double the overall level of funding from €111m to €220m by 2027.”
McGrath said betting tax had raised €98.9m in 2022 and that 2023 revenue would be similar. The tax was extended to remote operators in 2015.
See also: Estonia proposes gambling tax hikes
