LOI director Mark Scanlon reveals €6m is gambled on every Premier men's fixture

Rovers’ Josh Honohan celebrates scoring a goal. Pic: Ryan Byrne/Inpho

League of Ireland football is growing in popularity and that’s been reflected by a spike to €6m in the amount gambled on each senior men’s Premier fixture.

The whopper figure was revealed by league director Mark Scanlon as part of his traditional pre-season briefing.

This year’s Premier Division season kicks off on February 6, followed a week later by the First Division.

€5.96m is the average bet on matches in the top-flight, with €1.83m wagered on First Division games. The men’s FAI Cup attracted bets of €1.39m per game, with €550,000 gambled in the women’s league schedule.

Asia, with 65%, accounts for most bets.

Simultaneously on that topic, the FAI has ramped up their gambling awareness sessions to players from U17 age-group upwards to seniors, as well as referees and FAI staff.

Also revealed was the €1m threshold being smashed for revenue generation from the streaming service, LOITV. 

The guaranteed payout for the Premier and First Division clubs is €13,000 and €7,000, with an extra €5,000 due for those with a women’s team. All clubs also receive a profit share from the service.

Almost half of the audience are watching the games through piracy, such as dodgy boxes and firesticks, according to Scanlon. Were they not, and paid for subscriptions, an estimated extra €1m would be injected into the coffers.

“If we were able to double our revenue, it would have a significant increase in terms of what we could offer our clubs,” stressed the league supremo.

“I think we’ve done a brilliant job on LOITV in terms of where it’s got to.

“Yet that amount is what we’re losing at the minute from illegal streaming. Hopefully we can gain some of that back and people can see the benefit of making sure they are investing and buying into the clubs.” Unlike most European countries, the league doesn’t have a buoyant broadcasting rights deal.

Virgin Media brokered a four-year deal from the start of 2025 to show a match per week. Viewership figures decreed Friday nights remain the popular slot, with the playoff between Waterford and Bray Wanderers ranked fourth behind three Dublin derbies at the top.

However, the modest profit from the TV deals with Virgin, RTÉ and TG4 is bundled into the €3.1m dished out to clubs from the FAI. That includes grants for travel and prize-money.

The latter remains unchanged, offering €125,000 to the Premier champions and €38,000 for the First Division title winner.

Broader financial challenges in the FAI, evidenced by them pushing out their €40m debt to 2036, has hindered their ability to properly fund the domestic product.

Reliance on the State has become increasingly apparent and the granting of €3m in the Budget towards developing an academy system will finally produce 50 full-time jobs. Presuming success in their applications, each club will receive €43,500 towards employing an academy director and €38,500 to hire a head of academy coaching.

An audit last year by Belgian company Double Pass captured the volume of staff already working within the industry. Those clubs that have full-time staff – only five currently employ an academy director – won’t be penalised for their endeavour.

For example, clubs with two current staff will see that figure double under this scheme.

Deadline for applications closes on Friday, with the FAI conducting the initial phase of interviews – with independent involvement – to assemble a panel. From there, clubs and successful candidates meet to finalise the terms and conditions on the three-year contracts.