IS BETTING LEGAL IN IRELAND?

All forms of sports betting are legal in Ireland. The first betting act came in 1931, before the Gaming and Lotteries Act followed up in 1956.

Ireland still uses the same Gaming and Lotteries act from 1956, this is due to the Irish betting laws that are very gambling-friendly, that means if you’re based in the Emerald Isle, nothing is stopping you from starting out with a sports betting side hustle.

The best thing about sports betting in Ireland is that the Irish players have a big number of sportsbooks at their disposal. There are many online bookmakers that accept Irish customers and many of those offer not only great bonuses, but also great odds. We’ll come back to that later.

You could say that sports betting and the Irish goes hand in hand, and you have to look long and hard to find an Irishman that doesn’t know what sports betting is.

BETTING TAXES IN IRELAND

The bad news is that there are betting taxes for Irish citizens. The good news is that they are very low, and it has without a doubt decreased over the years.

It wasn’t too long ago (until 1986) that you had to pay 20% on your winnings. From 1986 to 1999 the taxes decreased to from 20% to 10%, from 10% to 5% in 1999 until 2002 and from 2002 to 2006 it was only a 2% tax percentage on your winnings.

Now, 14 years later, it’s half of that number. That means you only have to pay 1% taxes on your winnings if you’re an Irish punter!

BEST BOOKMAKERS TO USE IN IRELAND

There is a lot to take into considerations when deciding which bookmaker to use, such as the bookmaker’s margin, the customer service, the welcome bonus and so on.

As an Irish punter, you can use a bunch of different bookmakers. You can bet at many of the 100 available bookies in the Trademate Sports software, send us a chat if you have any questions regarding bookmakers in your country!

Anyways, here are 3 of the most popular ones:

BoyleSports: As you probably already know, Boylesport together with Paddypower are the two most popular bookmakers in Ireland. Even though Paddypower is bigger in the UK, BoyleSports is Ireland's most successful independent bookmaker, and has more than 250 shops throughout Ireland and the UK. They have a big selection of niche sports (which Ireland has a lot off), so if you’re into Gaelic football, Darts and hurling, this is the site for you.

Betfair: They go under the name of Betfair, but in reality 52% of the company is owned by the humongous Irish bookmaker as mentioned previously, PaddyPower. The odds are not the best, and if you win a lot, they are unfortunately quick to limit you.

William Hill: William Hill is one of the oldest bookmakers in the world, with a history of nearly 100 years. They have been doing business in Ireland for a long time, both as a land-based bookmaker and as an online operator. The have an easy website to navigate, and a great statistics section which will make it easier as a customer to do research before a game. Odds aren’t that good, and they can be slow to deposit money.

BEST WELCOME BONUSES

There are several things you need to consider when choosing a bookmakers bonus for your sports betting adventure.

First of all, the bookmakers you pick all need to be licensed in your country. Secondly, they need to give away amazing welcome bonuses. Finally, they also need to have a website that’s available in your language, which as an Irish you’re lucky as almost every site is in English.

If you’re an Irish punter, here are a couple of online bookmakers that match all the criteria discussed previously:

Bet365: Bet365 is one of the biggest sportsbook operators in the world. Not only does it accept players from Ireland, but it also gives them a welcome present. It comes in the form of a 100% matched deposit bonus up to €100 which you can turn over for free with the help of our matched betting software called Oddshero.

Unibet: Also one of the biggest in the world, therefore Unibet is really trustworthy. Unibet offers Irish customers up to €100 in bet credits.

BoyleSports: Definitely not the biggest bonus out there, but it’s a really easy one to turn over. Play for €10, get €40 to play for, even though only €30 of them can be played on sports, and the remaining amount must be used on casinos.

HOW POPULAR IS BETTING IN IRELAND?

Ireland is actually one of the biggest losing countries per capita, when it comes to online betting. 60% of the total amount wagered is on horse racing, with Football followed up quickly with 31%, and then Gaelic football and Golf after that.

There is an estimated total of €5 billion per year that’s being gambled, that is the same as betting €10,000 per minute! All this money gambled resulted in a €2.1 billion loss for Irish gamblers.

Nevertheless, you could say that sports betting in Ireland is extremely popular, so why not make a profit while doing it?

Have you seen our article series on 10 People Who Got Rich On Sports Betting?

Check out how Value occurs in Sports Betting here.