Official language: Irish, English
Population: 4,422,100
Currency: Euro (EUR)

Current Exchange Rate
1 GBP = 1.0681 EUR
1 USD = 0.6754 EUR

Sports Betting in Ireland
Sports betting is fully legal and very popular in Ireland. The country has a long-standing tradition of horse and dog racing, and people have been wagering on races since the beginning. Today, there are hundreds of high-street bookmakers and betting shops all across Ireland. Some of the biggest names are Ladbrokes, Cashmans, Gamebookers and Paddy Power. Sports betting is the only form of gambling in Ireland that is taxed and the tax was raised last year from 1% to 2%.

Paddy Power is the largest bookmaker in Ireland, and is listed on the London and Irish stock exchanges. They started back in 1988, and today operate over 190 shops across Ireland. They also operate one of Ireland's largest online gambling sites.

Online Sports Betting in Ireland
Online gambling is legal in Ireland and Irish sportsbooks started offering their services in 2004. Even though the Irish government gives out licenses to Irish sportsbook companies to operate on the internet, many Irish online bookmakers are licensed and hosted abroad. Online sportsbooks in Ireland are not yet as popular as they are in the rest of Europe, so the sites try to appeal to a broad audience.