Bookmaker considers Irish retail move

GIBRALTAR-registered bookmaker Stan James is believed to be interested in opening a number of high street retail betting shops in Ireland.

The move is likely to be on a small and focused scale and would be another bid by the company to boost its profile to Irish punters. The ultimate aim of the company is to increase the popularity of its online presence to betting enthusiasts here.

While the company could not be directly contacted on the matter, one well-placed industry source said there was talk of Stan James entering the retail market here.

Stan James makes most of its revenue from its online betting avenue – on which it is protected from paying tax to the British government on account of its offshore location. The company’s interest in Ireland has already been seen; it spent about €500,000 in attempting to up its profile amongst Irish punters by heavily sponsoring Setanta Ireland’s live Premiership football coverage last season.

However, any move to go into retail here seems odd and costly as many operators are finding a greater share of profits coming from their online divisions rather than their shops. Interestingly, two other British bookmakers with a significant Irish presence – William Hill and Ladbrokes – have both been looking at decreasing their shop numbers here.

Both have also just announced plans to move their online operations to Gibraltar to avoid paying tax on them in Britain.

Earlier this year, William Hill closed 14 of its shops here (it now operates 35 in the Republic) and hasn’t ruled out further closures, while Ladbrokes said last week it was planning to close five shops here before the end of the year. The Victor Chandler chain of upmarket betting shops has found the retail going tough here too, with one of the three outlets it has in Dublin (it also has a shop in Cork) closing earlier this year.