Irish bookmakers warn on gambling tax rise as Ireland weighs Budget 2027 plans

Ireland is considering an increase to its existing 2% betting duty ahead of Budget 2027, and the Irish Bookmakers Association says the sector would feel it where it hurts: on retail margins. For high-risk operators and PSPs, the point is not just the tax rate itself, but the combination of fiscal pressure, shop closures, and a market that has been moving online for years.

1. The current betting duty in Ireland is 2% for bets placed with licensed bookmakers through retail channels and by remote means. The tax is paid by operators, not directly by customers, so any change lands first on bookmaker economics rather than at the till.
2. Recent reporting says the Government is examining a further increase to that 2% rate as part of preparations for Budget 2027, which is scheduled for 6 October 2026. The proposal has not been confirmed as a final government decision.
3. Budget planning is happening within a defined fiscal envelope. Ireland’s Summer Economic Statement set out an €8.5 billion package for Budget 2027, split between €7 billion in additional spending capacity and €1.5 billion in tax measures. The final allocation is still subject to the budget process.
4. The betting sector is also facing a separate tax change. The Government said in Budget 2026 that it would legislate for a separate pool betting duty in Budget 2027 once the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland gets broader responsibility for licensing and supervising betting activity. Industry reporting says the pool betting rate is expected to rise from 1% to 2%.
5. The Irish Bookmakers Association has submitted its Budget 2027 position to Finance Minister Simon Harris. It says 222 betting shops have closed since the 2019 increase that doubled betting duty from 1% to 2%, and it estimates roughly 1,000 retail jobs were lost during the period.

The trade body’s figures are its assessment, not a clean attribution of cause and effect. In 2019, the Department of Finance said it was difficult to isolate the impact of the betting duty increase from other forces, pointing to mobile betting and wider market consolidation. That matters because, for operators, tax is only one part of a bigger structural shift: retail betting keeps shrinking while digital channels keep taking share.

For PSPs and acquirers, the practical takeaway is simple enough: Ireland’s licensed betting sector is heading into another budget round with both tax policy and channel mix working against physical retail. If the rate moves again, operators will have to decide how much pain they can absorb in shop economics before it starts showing up in payments volumes, merchant mix, and footprint decisions.