A spending watchdog was today urged to probe the accounts of Horse Racing Ireland over claims spending is out of control.

Bookmakers hit out today at 80-year-old laws on opening hours, claiming they cost 500 betting shop jobs last month.

THOUSANDS of jobs would be lost and a third of betting shops would close if a proposed 2% tax on winning bets is introduced in December’s budget, bookmakers have warned.

A BETTING masterclass executed with military precision has left the bookmaking fraternity all of a flutter.

THE Irish Bookmakers Association has described the legislation that dictates that all betting shops must close on Easter Sunday as archaic and completely out-of-date.

A WAR of words broke out in Leinster House yesterday when leading horse trainer, John Oxx, accused the chief executive of bookmaking firm Paddy Power plc, Patrick Kennedy, of ‘disdain’ towards the Irish racing industry.

International online gambling sites will be forced to pay tax on Irish bets, under Opposition proposals revealed today.

REPRESENTATIVES of more than 80% of Irish bookmakers have agreed to support “responsible gambling” by signing up to an agreement with leading charity Gamcare.