Ireland’s coalition government is considering raising gambling taxes as part of a wider overhaul of the state’s tax system, according to reports.

Sources told The Sunday Times that ministers are reviewing the 2 percent betting duty as they explore ways of offsetting the cost of a planned cut to hospitality VAT. Finance minister Paschal Donohoe has yet to reveal what options are under discussion, or which of the governing parties is pressing for a direct increase. Ireland’s Gambling Regulation Bill, passed last year, did not include fiscal measures but created the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI). 

The move to increase tax on the country’s gambling sector mirrors trends in Britain, where the Labour government is playing the kite-flying game as they desperately try to raise duties in order to fund public spending. With Ireland’s online gaming market projected to reach £1.2bn by 2029, gambling revenues are seen by ministers as too juicy to ignore – as is, clearly, the faux concerns they cite of gambling harm concerning online gambling.