Irish Report Reveals Huge Potential 

A new study commissioned by the Gaming and Leisure Association of Ireland has postulated that the regulation of online and land-based casinos in the nation could create around 3,000 jobs and generate $68 million in revenues for the Exchequer.

Casinos currently operate as private clubs in Ireland but the Gaming and Leisure Association is urging the Government to pass legislation that would license such premises and put them under the review of an independent regulator.

“Currently, the Irish land-based casino sector is of modest size, representing approximately 1.5 percent of total gambling GGR and employing in the region of 500 people,” said John Lawlor from DKM.

“Our assessment of the sector internationally indicates that there is scope for this to increase significantly in a properly-regulated environment.”

The study was conducted by Dublin-based DKM Economic Consultants and claims that up to 10,000 additional jobs could be created with potential benefits for the Treasury in excess of $380 million by 2020 if the Government established Ireland as a centre for the development and licensing of online gambling. It revealed that the nation has the potential to become a centre of international online gambling activity, which ‘has the potential to be even more economically significant for the Irish economy than the land-based sector’.

“There has been no previous quantitative examination of the size of the casino gaming sector in Ireland nor the potential for future growth based on international trends,” said David Hickson from the Gaming and Leisure Association of Ireland.

“This report establishes some level of an economic benchmark for the debate on regulation.”