Online Casino News & Free Casino Online » Irish Casino News

William Hill to move telephone betting offshore.

admin — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:10:30 +0000

Online casino operator William Hill is in the Irish casino news again after announcing that it is to move its telephone betting service offshore. You may remember that William Hill Online moved its online casino operations last year to Gibraltar blaming the UK tax regime which charges 15% of gross profit plus a levy to the horse racing industry versus virtually nothing in Gibraltar and now Ralph Topping the chief executive says “we now have a coalition government which says good things about encouraging growth, seeing business prosper and creating jobs. But the reality is that it’s just words for now. We can’t wait forever for politicians to come back with proposals on regulation and taxation”. Job losses will result in Leeds in the UK where the current call centre is located. In terms of the Irish online casino market or telephone market there should be no difference to customers experience. William Hill is not the first to complain about tax regimes and it is not only the UK that is affected but Ireland as well. Paddy Power has long been complaining about offshore competition to its Irish online casino business having a tax advantage and Ladbrokes whose online casino business also operates from offshore has closed a call centre in Aintree although still operates one near London. Although not outlining any definite plans Mr Topping also suggested that some of its high street shops were also unprofitable due to the tax situation and closures may follow. It does seem that both the Irish and UK Governments have some thinking to do if there are to be any online casino operators left on home soil.

Late night casino opening not popular with everybody in Kilkenny

admin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 06:20:13 +0000

In recent Irish Casino News it is reported that not all councilors are happy with a decision at Kilkenny Borough Council to allow a private members club to remain open until 4:00 am. The planning permission is one of two being requested, the other coming up for decision in September and gambling will take place at both making them effectively casinos; they will also be allowed to serve alcohol until closing time. Councilors Manning and Noonan issued a notice of motion which stated that ‘Kilkenny Borough Council expresses its total dissatisfaction with the current planning and development act and the effective curtailment it places on councilors in relation to restricting unwanted development in their areas’. It seems that the councilors are unable to restrict the granting planning permission simply because they consider a development unwanted; speaking at the Borough Council meeting Cllr Manning said “it is important that councilors are allowed to do their job without being threatened by vested interests when they are trying to make a decision whether or not to object to a development”. Cllr Manning also commented upon the fact that alcohol would be served but everybody was aware that even one drink could impair judgment; she related this to the fact that a contract signed whilst under the influence of alcohol could be voided so where did this leave Irish casinos where alcohol is served? Apparently the Department of Justice has passed a new act that will enable closer monitoring of these private members clubs who will be required to provide a list of members which will of course raise the question of whether it is worth the hassle for a member or whether online casinos are a better bet.

Adding cash to your online casino account using Maestro might be impossible

admin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:05:27 +0000

Although the easy way to make a deposit into your online casino account is to use a credit card we have warned about the cost implications of doing so and if don’t have an e-wallet account the next best thing is debit card and one of the largest of these is the Maestro card. Funding your casino games with Maestro should be very easy and because it is effectively cash it can be credited to your Maestro casino account immediately but it isn’t. Maestro is the debit card brand of MasterCard which is why the two circles symbol looks similar but in Ireland most of the debit cards issued by banks carry both the Maestro and the Laser symbol. If you are paying into your casino with Maestro in Ireland you will probably be using the Laser function, only if for some reason you wish to pay into your casino account from abroad will you be using the Maestro function and you still may find that it is not possible as there is no possibility for the chip to be read. At home in Ireland this should not be a problem. Maestro and online casinos do not mix very well in Ireland so either use Laser or better yet open an e-wallet (which you can fund with your debit card if you so wish). Before trying to deposit into your online casino account check the banking section of the casino where it should give full details of what is and what is not possible.

Drink driving limits reduction in Ireland is even more reason to play an online casino

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 08:28:57 +0000

New drink driving limits passed by the Dáil could inadvertently help the Irish online casino business. In this Irish casino news section we can report that new legislation has been passed that reduces the permissible amount of alcohol in 100ml of blood from 80mg to 50mg and for professional drivers or learner drivers to 20mg. This is good news for online casinos but not so good news for pub and bar owners especially those in more remote locations where driving is often the only way to get there. As far as online casinos are concerned this news is yet more reason to stay at home and have some fun and at the same time not worry about how much you are drinking. We of course do not advocate excessive drinking at all and especially not when playing at an online casino but the new limits mean only one small drink is permissible before driving. The Irish casino industry is no different from the rest of the world in supplying free drinks to those who gamble at sufficiently high stakes but with this latest news Irish casinos punters will need to be careful and with the land based casinos having no more to offer than online casinos, the stay at home option could be better. Even those who prefer live dealers can choose that option at most online casinos these days so what is the attraction of going out?

Paddy Power the Irish online casino operator offering money backs on World Cup

admin — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 08:05:08 +0000

Although this is strictly an Irish online casino site recommending various online casinos and explaining casino games we could hardly let one of the greatest sporting events and gambling opportunities pass by without some comment. We are of course talking about the World Cup Football tournament taking place in South Africa and starting on June 11^th. Onlinecasino.ie is of course very disappointed that Ireland will not be present and whether we shall ever forgive the deliberate handball from Mr Henry remains to be seen. Very much in the Irish casino news at the moment is our very own Paddy Power and their money back specials, the first of which involves the England game on June 12^th where if Wayne Rooney scores some losing bets will be refunded. The Irish casino operator is making this offer on 1^st and last goalscorer, correct score and scorecast single bets and a maximum refund of €100 applies. The two most active online casinos in Ireland are Paddy Power and Ladbrokes but for the world cup Paddy Power have generally better odds available with Argentina at 13/2 versus 6/1 at Ladbrokes and Spain at 4/1 versus 7/2 at Ladbrokes. If you think you know the winner, get your bets on before the tournament begins as the odds will change quite quickly once we see some of the results. Keep your eyes on Irish casino news during the tournament as we suspect Paddy Power will be offering some more interesting money backs. You don’t have to restrict yourself to an Irish casino to place your bets so take a good look around at any of the online casinos we recommend.

Online Casino Tax will not work

admin — Mon, 31 May 2010 10:42:10 +0000

Earlier this month we reported in our Irish casino news section that Taoiseach Brian Cowen planned to bring online casinos and telephone betting into the tax regime to help fund Irish horse and greyhound racing by forcing overseas casino operators who currently pay no tax to acquire a license. According to Irish casino operators however the plans are flawed and doomed to failure. Paddy Power casino, the largest of the Irish online casino operators might think it is a good idea in principle, especially as they are a taxpayer, but there is no legislation in place that prevents Irish gamblers from registering with any online casino they wish and placing deposits whether that online casino has a license in the country or not. The Irish Government may conceivably be able to stop overseas online casino operators from advertising which may hurt some of the smaller lesser known online casinos but any of the larger casinos that as those we recommend on this Irish online casino site have many other ways in which to advertise themselves. According to the MD of Ladbrokes Ireland, experience and history in other countries points to the fact that deterrents such as blocking sites are ineffective so whilst taxing overseas online casinos might seem like a good idea and it might make a good story for Irish casino news, Mr Cowen is going to have to think it through to make it work. In the meantime the news for Irish consumers is don’t worry, carry on as normal and enjoy your online casino experience whether you are playing at an Irish casino site or one registered overseas and anyway are you sure you really know where your online casino is registered?

Irish Government to tax online casinos

admin — Sun, 16 May 2010 06:30:33 +0000

The Irish Horse and Greyhound racing fund is under pressure after income from excise duty from off course betting dropped from €60 million to €31 million last year. The Government has contributed around €30 million in each of the past two years but according to Taoiseach Brian Cowen a more sustainable system of support is needed for the industry and he has something in mind. Mr Cowen believes that online casinos operating in Ireland should be brought within the tax net whether they are Irish casinos or those operated from overseas. In addition telephone betting should be brought in the net. Many of the online casinos offering services in Ireland are in fact based in overseas territories where the tax regime is more friendly such as Gibraltar or Malta but by introducing licensing legislation Mr Cowen hopes to be able to generate more tax income. Speaking at a dinner in Dublin the Taoiseach said “Such betting must be brought within the tax net, not just because it will increase revenue, but also because it will mean that those currently not contributing to securing the future of important indigenous industries will now make that contribution”.

Post Office Manager “borrows” €22,000

admin — Mon, 03 May 2010 06:50:55 +0000

Ken Dalton was a Post Office Manager at Ringsend Post Office in Fitzwilliam Point but when cashing up at the end of the day back in late summer 2008 he found a shortfall of €450. Most people would contact the owner, in this case Mr Mark Harrison, and apologise and possibly offer to pay the money back but not Mr Dalton. He decided a better route would be to borrow some more money from the Post Office and place a bet or two to win the money back. You can guess that of course he lost his bets and that started the cycle of borrowing more and more money and placing bigger and bigger bets to recoup his losses. It is not clear whether he was betting at an online casino or at a high street bookmaker but one day an official arrived unannounced to do an audit and found some €22,000 missing. At Dublin Circuit Criminal Court Judge Frank O’Donnell remanded Mr Dalton on bail pending sentencing in June. Shortly before his arrest police made a search of his house and found betting slips. Mr Dalton admitted 9 counts of theft but his defence counsel, Mr Rory Staines, told the court that he had no history of trouble with the police and made a dreadful mistake in trying to cover up the missing money. Apparently Mr Dalton wants to pay back the money to Mr Harrison but as he is on welfare this seems unlikely to happen. One of our tips is never to borrow money to gamble and this just goes to prove the point.

FAI postpones hearing into match betting

admin — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 08:32:22 +0000

It is not only in Asia where investigations take place into illegal betting on football but in Gareth McGlynn’s case it can hardly be called match fixing especially as he lost his bets. A week or so ago Sammy Morrow currently a player with Coleraine was given a 3 month ban by FIFA having been found guilty of breaking rules by betting on a domestic game and it is thought that this investigation also highlighted McGlynns case which is being handled by the FAI. A hearing was supposed to take place last Tuesday “in relation to two individuals connected with the former Derry City Football Club” but was postponed. The FAI did not name the players but McGlynn who now plays for Bohemians was quick to confirm he was one of the players but insisted he had not broken the spirit of rule 100 even if he may have technically done so. He readily admits to having placed small bets on four games in 2008 and 2009 but is at pains to point out that none of the games involved Derry and there was no way in which he could influence the outcome of those games. He went on to say “at the time that I placed these bets, I was not aware of the full text of Rule 100. I genuinely believed that the rule simply prohibited me from betting on matches involving my own club and I was shocked to discover otherwise. I accept that the placing of these bets represents a technical breach of rule 100”. “I have not broken the spirit of the rule and I had no more advantage or knowledge than the average punter”. “It is also worth noting that the bets were placed through a betfair account which is an entirely transparent process”.

For what it’s worth we agree with him and hope that the hearing which now takes place in April bears that in mind.

Four year suspended sentence for Irish gambling addict

admin — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 09:11:35 +0000

A man has been given a four year suspended sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after stealing more than €78.000 from his employer to fund his gambling addiction. Peter Dillon who worked for insurance company Cornmarket Group Financial Services for around 7 years systematically took cash from customers as payments for car or home insurance but never passed the money on to the company. To complete the swindle he changed documents to indicate that payment had been made by credit card or other payment methods. In total there were 132 cases in a little over 8 months before he eventually was found out. In handing down the suspended sentence, Judge Katherine Delahunt took into account the fact that he had admitted the offences to the company and had handed himself in to police. He had also repaid some €20.000 and had made arrangements to repay the remaining amount as well as attending gamblers anonymous to cure his problem. Mr Dillon who has a seven year old daughter who stays with him two nights a week seems to have been a lucky man who could have got into worse trouble has he not recognised his problem. As it is he has found another job and as long as he can control his gambling he will get away with 240 hours of community service instead of a four year jail sentence. If you are worried about your own online casino gambling or that of a friend, we urge to take action.