Version: 26032003
Editor: Franka Pals
Publisher: Novamedia
Disclaimer: Novamedia disclaims all liability for information provided within the "Novamedia European Gaming and Lottery Files".The information is supplied by independent journalistic sources. No parts of these files may be reproduced in any form by print, photo print, microfilm or otherwise, or re-distributed electronically in any form without written permission from the publisher.
The Republic of Ireland, which acquired its independence from the UK on 6 December 1921, is surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean (in the north and west) and by the Irish Sea, Saint Georges Channel and the Celtic Sea in the east. Northern Ireland, governed by Great Britain, is located on the northeast part of the Irish Island, and its shape resembles that of a champagne cork, which may pop off any time. The two official languages are English and Gaelic.
Gaelic history and vibrant culture are dominant in the landscape filled with castles, old houses and monuments, some even older than the Pyramids.
Since the 1960s, traditional Irish music is going through a revival. Who doesn't know The Clancy Brothers or The Dubliners?
Another example of this phenomenon in Irish culture is the international show 'Riverdance', also shown successfully on TV worldwide, which brings together the best of Irish song, spectacular group dance and music.
Other famous artists like Van Morrisson, U2, Sinéad O' Connor, The Cranberries and The Corrs are not hiding their Irish origin.
Another artist, Johnny Logan, put Ireland on the map by winning the Eurovision Song Contest a record three times. He won as a singer with 'What's Another Year' (1980) and 'Hold Me Now' (1987) and in 1992 he won as composer with the song 'Why Me'. Who would have bet on that?
Ireland, besides receiving great quantities of European Union subsidies, is well known for its spectacular and unfamiliar looking Gaelic sports, such as Camogie (dangerous girls hurling), Football (Gaelic Football a mixture of soccer and rugby), Handball (played by two individuals or two pairs using their hands to strike a ball against a forecourt wall), Hurling (a game similar to hockey played with a small ball and a curved wooden stick), Rounders (a precursor of baseball) and Shinty (a sort of rugby with long hockey sticks).
The Department of Finance published the annual Economic Review and Outlook on August 22nd, 2002, detailing the economic turnout for 2001 and prospects for 2002.
Following a sustained period of very strong growth since 1994, the Irish economy slowed markedly in 2001, particularly from mid-year onwards.
The outlook for 2002 is a further moderation in the rate of economic growth. The slowdown in economic growth has been accompanied by a weakening in public finances, which nevertheless remain in surplus. On the basis that the international economic recovery gains momentum and While the Exchange lists now hundreds of that competitiveness is maintained, a pick- securities, including investment funds, the up in domestic economic activity is envis- main markets are in the shares of Irish aged, albeit at a slower pace than foreseen listed companies and Irish Government at Budget time with GNP expanding by bonds. 3% rather than the 3.5% then forecast. Inflation in the second half of the year 2002 is somewhat lower than in the first half, with a CPI rate of around 4.5% per cent for the year as a whole slightly above the Budget estimate.
The Board of the IMF commended the authorities for Ireland's impressive economic performance, reflected in sustained gains in income and employment over the last decade, and rooted in sound economic policies, a skilled workforce and flexible labour market, and an investor-friendly environment.
The Government has also taken several initiatives in the tax area to encourage enterprise and trade:
The Irish Stock Exchange, established in the capital Dublin, began 'trading' from 1793.
| Population: | 3,883,159 (July 2002 est.) |
|---|---|
| Age Structure | :0-14 years: 21.3% (male 425,366; female 403,268) |
| GPD | purchasing power parity – $104.7 billion (2001 est.) |
| Currency | Euro |
| Internet: | According to a report from Amarach (August, 2002) internet penetration |
| Telecom | In February, 2002 the mobile penetration rate in Ireland was 79 per cent The mobile operators by market share: |
Grant by Minister of licence to hold National Lottery:
The National Lottery Fund was established by the Minister for Finance in the Central Bank of Ireland under Section 8 of the National Lottery Act, 1986. The Fund is managed and controlled by the Minister and the surplus generated by the Company each year is attributed in its entirety to this Fund.
Cash received by the Company is transferred into the Fund on a regular basis in accordance with Section 8 of the National Lottery Act, 1986 and the money necessary to meet prize payments, operating costs and capital expenditure is transferred as required from the Fund to the Company. The amount due from the Fund to the Company comprises the net aggregate balance of all such transactions.
Under Section 5 of the National Lottery Act, 1986, the surplus from the National Lottery may be used for the following purposes:
The following additional beneficiary categories have also been designated:
National Lottery-funded allocations are decided by the Government, in the context of the annual Estimates process and these allocations are summarised in a special appendix contained in the Book of Estimates.
See for the complete National Lottery Act 1986 Sect 3: www.bailii.org/ie/legis/num_act/ nla1986207/s3.html
Website:www.lotto.ie
The National Lottery was founded in 1987 to generate funds for the beneficiaries in the designated categories. At that time there was a draw on Saturdays only and contained the numbers 1 to 36 and no bonus number. Instant games have been an integral part of the National Lottery since its launch (short odds).
On May 30th, 1990 a biweekly draw was introduced (Wednesday and Saturday) the game was still with 36 numbers until August 22nd, 1992 , when the numbers 37,38 and 39 were added along with a bonus number. The bonus number added an extra prize, by matching 3 numbers plus the bonus you would win, prior to that you either had to get 4, 5 or all 6 correct.
On August 24th, 1994, another 3 numbers were added to make the draw numbers 1 to 42, a minimum jackpot was also introduced. Another nouveauté is that instead of picking all six numbers one could play 1,2,3,4 or 5 numbers and if your chosen numbers are all drawn you win.
Lotto Plus was launched at the end of October, 2000. By the end of 2000, almost 50% of all Lotto panels played for the Wednesday and Saturday draws were also being entered in the Lotto Plus game. The launch of Lotto Plus also marked the first ever cross-promotion between the National Lottery's online and instant games.
The national lottery company is a subsidiary of the An Post Group, the National Irish Post company, which holds 80% of the issued share capital. The sole activity of the Company is the operation of the National Lottery under License from the Minister for Finance in accordance with the provisions of the National Lottery Act, 1986. The License expired December 31st, 2001. In response to the Department of Finance the Company had to apply, by supplying a bid document, for a new licence to operate the National Lottery.
Besides An Post, there were two other applications:
Due to the government's failure to complete its tender process for the new lottery licence in time, Autotote and SISAL pulled out. This left An Post, the holder of the licence, as the only bidder and An Post was granted a new license to operate the National Lottery from January 1st, until December 31st, 2008.
The surplus generated each year is entirely attributable to the National Lottery Fund and accordingly, the results of the Company are not consolidated within the An Post Group.
| euro x1000 | 2001 | 1987-2001) |
|---|---|---|
| Youth, Sport, Recreation, Amenities | 66,819 | 566,789 |
Health and Welfare |
75,297 | 611,841 |
Arts, Culture, National Heritage |
23,164 | 367,904 |
Irish Language |
3,631 | 96,650 |
Total |
168,911 | 1,643,184 |
All information in relation to Beneficiary Funding is compiled by the Department of Finance. The figures are calculated from the latest estimate of expenditure relating to approved projects:
An Post's unbroken growth trend for the previous fourteen years continued in 2001.
| PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT | 2001 (EUR'000)) | 2000 (EUR'000) |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover - Continuing Operations | 538,135 | 495,354 |
| Prizes | 282,319 | 258,646 |
| Gross Surplus | 255,816 | 236,708 |
| Agents' Commission and Bonuses | 33,513 | 30,815 |
| Printing, Marketing and Distribution Costs | 13,312 | 12,950 |
| On-Line Facilities and Services Costs | 20,580 | 19,004 |
| Administrative Costs | 12,618 | 11,132 |
| Surplus for the Financial Year - Continuing Operations | 175,793 | 162,807 |
| Attributable to National Lottery Fund | 175,793 | 162,807 |
| Surplus Retained |
| TURNOVER | 2001 (EUR'000) | 2000 (EUR'000) |
|---|---|---|
| Lotto Games | ||
Lotto |
305,876 | 314,929 |
Lotto Plus |
61,446 | 9,245 |
Lotto 5-4-3-2-1 |
10,378 | 11,398 |
Subtotal |
377,700 | 335,572 |
| Instant Game | 143,904 | 140,026 |
| TellyBingo | 16,531 | 19,756 |
| Total | 538,135 | 495,354 |
PRIZES |
2001 (EUR'000 | 2000 (EUR'000) |
|---|---|---|
| Lotto Games | ||
Lotto |
152,938 | 157,464 |
Lotto Plus |
28,844 | 4,302 |
Lotto 5-4-3-2-1 |
5,938 | 6,527 |
Subtotal |
187,720 | 168,293 |
Instant Game |
83,644 | 78,448 |
TellyBingo |
10,955 | 11,905 |
Total |
282,319 | 258,646 |
The average number of staff working in 2001 (and 2000)
Lotto: still by far the largest National Lottery game, accounting for 56.8% of total sales.
Lotto Plus: launched in October, 2000, has increased overall Lotto and Lotto Plus sales with little revenue diversion from sales of the main Lotto game.
The TV game shows associated with 'Winning Streak' and 'Fame & Fortune' instant games continue to maintain high viewership levels on RTE television.
According to the report 'An Assessment of the Economic Impact of the Lottery, 1987 2001' published by the economic consultants, DKM in August 2001, commissioned by An Post National Lottery Company: "92 per cent of adults (aged 18 years and over) stated that they had played a National Lottery game at some stage in the past. The percentage of adults who are regular players (played last week) has been constant at 63 per cent for the past two years."
"The average weekly expenditure by regular National Lottery participants in 2000 was EUR 5.62, a 26 per cent increase in real terms over 1995."
In August 2002 an Post National Lottery launched Elvis Instant Game, a licensed instant lottery game featuring logos and other imagery associated with Elvis Presley®, according to an announcement by MDI Entertainment, Inc.which is the official licensee for Elvis Presley® lottery games and promotions.
The Elvis game features 1.4 million tickets. Each ticket costs 2 euro and gives lottery players the opportunity to win a cash prize of up to 1,000 euro. Additionally, the game features hundreds of 25 euro instant cash prizes and four Graceland trips for two.
The An Post National Lottery is the seventeenth to introduce an Elvis Presley® licensed game through MDI. Similar games were offered by the British Columbia, California, Delaware, Florida, Hoosier, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New South Wales, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin Lotteries.
MDI's services include game and ticket design, merchandise prize fulfillment, management of second-and third-chance draws, fully-staffed customer service, coordination of winner travel & accommodations, advertising and marketing support, consumer research and Internet marketing and advertising. Currently, the company's portfo lio of licensed lottery properties includes but is not limited to: the NBA/National Basketball Association, Betty Boop ™ , Elvis Presley®, I Love Lucy®, Magic 8 Ball®, FIFA World Cup® Soccer, Universal Studios Monsters ™ , SPAM ™ , Louisville Slugger®, CMT®, Wheel of Fortune®, Jeopardy! ®, Harley-Davidson®, The Hollywood Sign® and Hollywood Walk of Fame® Ray Charles®, Hollywood Squares®, TABASCO®, Lionel, and NASCAR® race drivers including Jeff Burton®, Mark Martin®, Matt Kenseth®, and Bill Elliott®.
In October 2002 GTECH signed a new contract with An Post National Lottery to provide online and instant-ticket system solution and services. The six-year integrated services contract, which provides for extension options exercisable by the NLC, started on December 22, 2002, and followed a competitive procurement process.
Under the terms of the new contract, GTECH replaces the NLC's existing lottery system with GTECH's Enterprise Series ™ architecture, featuring IP communications enabled technology. Included in GTECH's Enterprise Series solution is the Enterprise Series Connect multi-channel interface. This allows the NLC to reduce the risks inherent with incorporating future technologies, as well as to broaden the scope of enhancements and integrations with other systems in the future.
The NLC also replaces its current terminal equipment with 2,200 GTECH® Altura® terminals, running on a Linux operating system. The Altura offers high-performance PC-based architecture and advanced software capabilities that facilitate the rapid introduction of new games and future lottery applications.
In addition, GTECH supplied the NLC with 1,300 GVT Extra terminals, which provide the ability to generate Quick Pick online wagers, together with validation of instant tickets. The NLC will also receive 500 Express Point® Plus terminals, which facilitate convenient player-activated identification of winning tickets.
GTECH provides a variety of ongoing technical services to the NLC under the new contract, including:
GTECH, a leading global information technology company with $1 billion in revenues and 4,400 people in 43 countries, provides software, networks, and professional services that power high-performance, transaction processing solutions, has been the online lottery supplier to the NLC since 1987. In addition to Ireland, GTECH currently supplies lottery equipment and/or services to 25 customers in Europe.
In February 2003 An Post National Lottery Company reported its first sales decline since the lottery was launched in 1987. Total sales of E533m were down 0.9% compared to 2001, which An Post blamed on the "changed economic environment." Operating costs accounted for 8.7% of sales, or E46m.
The company recorded a surplus of E172.9m, down from E176m a year earlier, partly due to the introduction of the euro and the roll out of new technology.
Lottery Director Ray Bates said the euro introduction was a major factor in the fall in sales.
"There was a genuine uncertainty about the value of the euro," Mr Bates said. "We transferred the price directly into euros, which was very awkward and meant people having to deal with lots of different coins. People said they did not like the 95% price per panel. People genuinely didn't know whether a euro was equal to a pound or whether two euro was equal to a pound."
Chairman John Hynes insisted the downturn was a once off and that the group would record growth in sales and surplus in 2003 again.
"At the end of the first year of our new licence I am very satisfied with our performance," Hynes said. "With the euro now established and new technology in place, we're poised to resume our normal growth pattern."
Sales of the instant games, at E144.3m, were marginally up on 2001 sales of E143.9 while sales of TellyBingo increased by 8% to E17.8m.
During 2002 more than 50% of total sales, or E281m, was returned to players in prizes, while a further 32%, or E172.9m, was given over to beneficiary projects.
Also in 2002 new technology was acquired to transfer data between retail outlets and lottery headquarters in central Dublin.
The process involved the replacement of all central system hardware and software, as well as the replacement of 3,500 terminals across the country.
"This up-grade will strengthen the position of our retail agent networks in future years," said Hynes.
The year 2002 began with the introduction of the euro and ended with a major upgrade of National Lottery technology. Their 3,500 retail agent terminals were replaced and central systems hardware and software were upgraded. A weakening of the Irish economy impacted on discretionary consumer spending. Against this background, An Post National Lottery Company experienced a 0.9%decline in sales during 2002.
The consumer uncertainty which followed the introduction of the euro resulted in a weak first quarter. However,following the successful restructuring of Lotto and the addition of the second Lotto Plus draw in September, sales in the fourth quarter were the highest quarterly sales ever recorded by the Company.
EUR 172.9 million,representing 32.4%of total sales of EUR 533.1 million,as raised for distribution by the Government to good causes.
The total amount raised by the National Lottery for good causes, since its launch sixteen years ago,now stands at almost EUR 1.9 billion. Total sales were EUR 533.1 million, down from EUR 538.1 million in 2001.Lotto sales in 2002 were EUR 285.3 million compared to EUR 305.9 million in 2001.
This 6.7%decline in sales resulted from some players switching some of their play from Lotto to the enhanced Lotto Plus game, and from a less than expected number of jackpot rollover sequences, resulting in fewer significant jackpots than in 2001. Lotto Plus continued to perform strongly with total sales of EUR 76.2 million in 2002, representing a 23.9%increase on 2001 sales of EUR 61.4 million.
Lotto 5-4-3-2-1 had sales of EUR 9.5 million compared to EUR 10.4 million in 2001. Sales of instant games,at EUR 144.3 million were marginally up on 2001 sales of EUR 143.9 million. This resulted from the development of a range of games at EUR 1, 2, 2.50 and EUR 3 price points, giving instant game players a wider choice of games.The continued success of the established instant games 'Winning Streak', 'Fame &Fortune', 'All Cash' and 'Hampers & Roses' as reassuring.
TellyBingo has now firmly established itself as a regular National Lottery game for a loyal band of players and sales in 2002, at EUR 17.8 million, were 7.8%up on 2001 sales.
The overall prize payout level as 52.7%in 2002 compared to 52.5%in 2001,with EUR 280.9 million returned to players in prizes. Our 3,500 agents around the country received EUR 33.1 million, or 6.2%of sales,in commission and bonuses.
The National Lottery's total operating costs were 14.86%of sales,marginally better than the 2001 percentage, reflecting a strong discipline of cost control in a year when the selection and installation of major new technology added to the Company's fixed costs.
An operational highlight of the year as the major upgrading of the technology used to operate the National Lottery. This major logistical project,implemented on target on 22 December, as successfully carried out without problems and without interrupting the day-to-day business of the National Lottery.The new system and agent terminals will greatly strengthen the ability of the Company and the retail agent network to capitalise on future gaming opportunities.
In a year that offered a challenging trading and operational environment, overall sales were EUR 533.1 million. A changed domestic economic climate coupled with the introduction of the euro, led to a tightening in consumer spending habits,particularly in relation to discretionary spending.
Despite this difficult environment, the flagship game, Lotto, was successfully restructed and a new draw to the Lotto Plus product in September was added. The new game offering as enthusiastically welcomed by regular Lotto players and, in the fourth quarter of the year, helped produce the highest single quarter sales in the history of the National Lottery.
By 22 December, a major upgrade of the technology employed to operate the National Lottery was successfully implemented. This large-scale and complicated logistical process involved the replacement of all central systems hardware and soft are,as well as the replacement of 3,500 agent terminals countrywide with the latest on-line gaming and ticket validation technology.
This technology upgrade is to strengthen the position of the retail agent network to capitalise fully on future gaming opportunities, thus increasing the amounts of funding that can be raised for beneficiary projects in future years.
Beneficiaries
The purpose of the National Lottery is to generate funds for the designated beneficiaries, while operating the National Lottery in accordance with the highest standards of integrity, credibility and security.
During the year 2002 a total of EUR 172.9 million was raised for projects at national, community and local level. This brings the total raised for beneficiary projects since the National Lottery began in 1987 to almost EUR 1.9 billion.
In 2002, from every EUR 1 spent on National Lottery games,32.4 cent ent directly to the beneficiary fund. The total amounts allocated by Government to the four funding categories in 2002 were as follows:
(in EUR Million)
Lotto
In 2002, the Lotto game produced less jackpot rollover sequences than in recent years and provided no significant jackpot prizes. In addition, the attractiveness of the Lotto Plus game, which as redesigned in September, caused some Lotto players to switch some of their Lotto play to Lotto Plus. As a result, Lotto sales were down 6.7%, to EUR 285.3 million, in 2002.
The Lotto game as restructured in September with changes which included a move, for a number of prize categories, from a fixed prize structure to parimutuel prizes. The guaranteed jackpot amount as also increased from EUR 1.269 million to EUR 1.35 million,and a much more convenient price of EUR 1 per panel, minimum play two panels, as introduced.
While the Lotto game continues to be the principal revenue generator, it can not be, after sixteen years, the sole source of substantial sales growth in the future. The Lotto jackpot as won in 39 out of 104 draws, with 27 new Lotto millionaires created.
On 5 January, Jeanette Harris from Kilcoole in Co.Wicklow, celebrated the New Year in style by becoming the first Euro-millionaire with a jackpot win of EUR 2.48 million. At the beginning of the summer, the largest jackpot of 2002, worth EUR 7,022,906, as shared by three winning tickets from Roscommon, Cork and Kildare. The largest win for a syndicate last year as in August, when eight family members from Co.Limerick won a jackpot of EUR 5,283,098.
The Lotto game as supported during the year by a number of special promotions. In March, an Easter special as offered with five winners receiving the normal Match 5 plus bonus prize, plus a Caribbean cruise to the value of EUR 25,000.
In October, a Halloween guarantee of EUR 100 as offered for all Match 4 and Match 4 plus bonus prizes. A special Christmas Superjackpot of a guaranteed EUR 5 million as offered on Saturday, 21 December,which as shared by five lucky inners.
Lotto Plus
The Lotto Plus game as redesigned in September with the addition of an extra draw which,with its sister draw, contributed substantial additional Lotto Plus sales.The price of Lotto Plus as increased from 30 cent to 50 cent per panel to include entry in the second Lotto Plus draw. Sales for Lotto Plus in 2002 amounted to EUR 76.2 million, an increase of 23.9%on sales in 2001. More importantly,players of Lotto Plus now account for over 70%of all Lotto players. This is a firm indicator that the Lotto Plus game has strong potential to become a longterm favourite for National Lottery players.
In 2002, there were 29 winners of the top prize of EUR 300,000 in the first Lotto Plus draw and, since September,when the game as introduced, 12 winners of EUR 200,000 in the second draw. Sales of Lotto Plus were further supported by the addition of two special promotions during the year. In February,all Lotto Plus 1 prizes were doubled to celebrate St.Valentine's Day.In October,in tandem with a similar Lotto promotion,a guaranteed prize of EUR 100 as offered for all Match 4 and Match 4 plus bonus winners in both Lotto Plus draws to celebrate Halloween. Since its latest enhancement, Lotto Plus has contributed significantly to the strong finishing sales performance of on-line games in the last quarter of the year.The new Lotto Plus offering has also diverted some play away from the main Lotto game which will give Lotto a higher expected probability of producing rollover jackpots,thus adding to the excitement of the game for players in the future.
Lotto 5-4-3-2-1
Now in its sixth year,Lotto 5-4-3-2-1 continues to serve a niche market for players who like to play a variation of the Lotto game with better odds of winning a smaller cash prize.Since its launch,the game continues to sustain a loyal following of enthusiastic players.
Following the introduction of the euro, the price per play as decreased by 21%from IR £1 to EUR 1,with a consequent 16%increase in the volume of plays. In 2002,sales of this game were EUR 9.5 million, representing a decrease of 8.4%on the previous year's sales.This as achieved against the backdrop of an increasingly sophisticated gaming and leisure environment ith an increasingly competitive fixed-odds market.
TellyBingo
TellyBingo sales were EUR 17.8 million in 2002, representing a 7.8%increase on the previous year ' sales.The TellyBingo TV game' current position as a twice-weekly afternoon game show in RTE schedules is proving increasingly popular with the loyal following of players who enjoy the experience of playing Bingo at home. There were three substantial Snowball prizes of EUR 65,000 won in 2002 -in March,April and July. A total of thirteen winners shared these three prizes.
Instant Games
2002 as a successful year for instant ticket game sales,with a total of twenty-one instant games marketed by the Company, generating sales of EUR 144.3 million.This figure represents a marginal increase of 0.3% on sales of EUR 143.9 million in 2001. Instant games now account for 27%of total National Lottery ticket sales and continue to provide a valuable part of the game portfolio. The average prize payout in 2002 as 58.9%, with a total of EUR 84.9 million returned to players in instant cash prizes.
Throughout 2002, instant games were designed and marketed to appeal to players across a wide range of consumer categories. A variety of price points were offered, ranging from the EUR 1 'All Cash' ticket to 'Christmas 3', priced at EUR 3.
The two television game shows associated with our two most popular instant games 'Winning Streak' and 'Fame &Fortune' continued their popular runs in RTE's winter and summer schedules. Both shows consistently feature in the top five most popular programmes on television, frequently reaching the number one position in viewer ratings. The average weekly payout on the Winning Streak game show, presented by Derek Mooney, is EUR 190,000,making it Ireland's,and one of Europe's, richest TV game shows.The top prize of EUR 500,000, available to players on both shows,as won twice in 2002.The feature prizes on the 'Fame &Fortune' instant game were luxury five-day trips for two to Rome,with EUR 1,000 spending money as part of the prize. In September, eighty-four lucky winners, from 18 counties throughout Ireland,travelled with Marty Whelan to savour the attractions of the Eternal City.
Instant Games Launched in 2002
It was launched in Novamber 1987 on behalf of 18 different countries in Ireland. The lottery offers a serries of instant games and allocates 25% of sales to the benefiting charities.
In February 2002 Alphyra Group PLC launched a new nationwide electronic gaming lottery in Ireland over its terminal network and developed an advanced lottery platform that facilitated the delivery of a new Lotto product to the market and began piloting this system in March 2002.
Alphyra partnered with Rehab Lotteries in an arrangement that sees the delivery of a new lottery product, Daily Lotto, using Alphyra' network of terminals that are usually used to top-up credit on pre-paid mobile phones.
Rehab Lotteries, which raised over IEP23 million for the Rehab Group and other notfor-profit-organisations, traditionally offered its products over scratch cards.
The arrangement with Alphyra as the first time a non-state owned lottery company that used this kind of technology to electronically deliver lotteries in Ireland.
The new lottery product, Daily Lotto, is a community-based lottery from Rehab Lotteries that was initially available to selected Alphyra merchants in Co. Wicklow and if it proves a success for Rehab then the organisation may offer it throughout the country. Alphyra has over 6,000 terminals throughout the country that are usually used to enable mobile phone customers to top-up their pre-paid mobile phones.
It is also thought that Alphyra will look to implement its transaction software throughout its terminal network in Europe as it looks to boost the ability of this network to increase revenues. The company, for instance, currently manages around 18,000 pre-paid terminals in Britain.
Website: www.sportsspread.com
Under the 'Sports Spread' label, founded by managing director Conor Foley, three spreadbetting categories are operating:
Sports Spread is a fully licensed specialist spread betting company. Established in February, 2000, the company is located in Dublin. According to Sports Spread's information, it was the first spread betting company in the world to offer real-time interactive sports spread betting facilities to its customers. Sports Spread's site was launched in March 2001.
Mr Foley stated in the Irish Independent, that "the share spread betting service offers a viable alternative for those who want to punt on share price movements accepting the risk but avoiding broker commission, stamp duty and capital gains tax should you win."
The Internet platform on which spreadbetting website operates has been designed and is being supported by SmartTransact, a reputable e-commerce provider. Based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, SmartTransact boasts Microsoft and Hewlett Packard among its partners.
Prior to March, 2001, all business conducted with Sports Spread had been through its telebetting centre in Dublin. In addition to offering spread betting facilities on the internet, Sports Spread continues to operate this call centre.
All client funds are held in a Client Segregated Funds Account at the Bank of Ireland. Ernst & Young are the company's auditors.
Sports Spread generated turnover in its first year in business of 4.6 million USD (source Ernst and Young, auditors) and estimations are that in only its second year in business (year end March 31, 2002) the company shows a profit on turnover of 13 million USD.
Spread betting is a relatively new concept which has evolved within the gaming industry over the last twenty years. Its origins may be traced back to the City of London in the 1980's although the recent dramatic increase in the broad-based popularity of spread betting can be attributed to the demand for new speculative opportunities and the advantages it can boast over traditional fixed-odds betting.
The easiest way to explain spread betting is with an example.
SportsSpread.com forecasts that the total number of points scored in an American Football match will be 46. The client must make a decision as to whether there will be more or less than 46 points scored in the match. Let's say that the player expects that there will be more than 46 points. The player must then nominate for how much 'per point' he would like to bet. The player nominates EUR 10 per point. (The stronger one feels on the possibilities, the higher the 'stake per point' should be.) The player will win EUR 10 for every single point more than 46 points that is scored in the match. He will lose EUR 10 for every single point less than 46 points scored when the match finishes. One could, alternatively, have expected there would be less than 46 points scored in the match. In this instance, the client would opt to 'go lower' than Sports Spread's quote of 46 points and the player would win EUR 10 for every single point less than 46 points scored in the match. The player would lose EUR 10 for every single point higher than 46 points that is scored in the match.
It is simply a matter of deciding whether the outcome of an event will be higher or lower than Sports Spread's quote and for how much per point the player is prepared to stake. The more accurate the players' forecast turns out to be, the more the player wins. The more inaccurate the players' forecast turns out to be, the more one loses.
The easiest and best comparison is a share price quote. The high price is the price at which one may Buy the share (when one expects it to go up) and the low price is the price at which one may Sell the share (when you expect it to go down). The difference between the Buy price and the Sell price is known as the Spread. This is the stockbrokers margin. As one knows, the price will go up if there are more buyers than sellers and it will go down if there are more sellers than buyers.
This is exactly what sports spread betting is all about. It is the application of the principles of share trading to sporting events. The spread betting company quotes a Buy price and a Sell price for the various markets in which they deal. In the example above, Sports Spread.com would probably quote a price of 45-48 for the Total Points in the US Football match.
The Buy price is 48 and this is the only price at which the player may deal if he forecasts that there will be more than 48 points in the match. The Sell price is 45 and this is the only price at which the player may deal if he forecasts that there will be less than 45 points in the match. Share trading is no different! The client quotes a Buy price and a Sell price and these are the prices on which the client may deal. One buys if he expects the price to go up. One sells if he expects the price to go down.
The important feature of spread betting is the potential for large profits or large losses!
SportsSpread.com operates however a strict Stop-Loss / Stop-Win policy on every bet they take. This means that it is possible to precisely quantify the maximum potential loss and maximum potential win on every single bet.
LotterySpread.com claims to be the first company in the world to offer betting opportunities on a range of games based around the numbers drawn in a selection of National and State Lotteries. The regular lottery player is no longer limited to the winning 'all or nothing' scenario of traditional Lotteries.
ShareSpread.com's clients can take a view on the movements of a number of the most popular Irish shares.
Some of these advantages are:
It is a matter of deciding whether the closing price on the given date will be higher or lower than ShareSpread's quote and for how much per point the client is prepared to stake. The more correct the clients forecast turns out to be, the more one wins. The more incorrect the forecast turns out to be, the more one loses.
Website: www.betdaq.com
Betdaq is the trading name of Global Betting Exchange, registered in Ireland with company number 325422. Its registered office is at IFSC House, Custom House Quay, Dublin 1, Ireland. The company was founded in 2000 by leading Irish businessman Dermot Desmond, whose other interests include London City Airport and a major shareholding in Glasgow Celtic Football Club. Betdaq, often described as 'The Betting Exchange', started trading in September 2001.
Global Betting Exchange operates a number of sports betting exchanges and brokerages around the world. It uses proprietary software, developed with a number of partners, and is fully protected by copyright in the European Union. According to Betdaq, their company is fully compliant with all laws and regulations applying to an exchange operating within the Republic of Ireland and European Union regulatory environments.
Betdaq has lodged a bond with a leading financial institution, which unconditionally guarantees amounts up to US$10 million lodged or staked by Members. This is the first such financial instrument to be deployed in the fast growing online person-to-person betting sector and is indicative of the financial strength of the company, its commitment to the security of its clients deposits, and the scale of wagering that it attracts.
Betdaq offers facilitation services for exchange trading and stakeholding on a wide variety of international sporting events of Golf, Football, Horse Racing, Baseball, American Football, Formula 1, Rugby, etc.
Betdaq's site is in English and in Chinese. The Exchange is accessible via mobile phones, electronic organisers and PCs via the Internet. Members may deposit funds as soon as they have completed the simple membership registration process. There are no charges made for any deposits using Switch or Visa Delta UK and Laser Irish Debit Cards. This is the easiest method of depositing and withdrawing funds. Members using this method may deposit up to £5,000 per day. Members who choose to deposit via Credit Card will have to pay a small sum to cover the cost of the Credit Card transaction.
Because the company is not subject to regulation from betting authorities or financial authorities it has decided to lodge a dollars 10 million bond with a bank as a guarantee to customers.
Exchange betting allows bettors to back and lay selections in an event with each other. It removes the need to pay the bookmaker's margin, the Tote's deduction or the spread betting firm's spread. It has caused something of a stir and is growing in popularity day by day as individuals recognise the better prices which come as a matter of course.
Website: www.tradesports.com
TradeSports is a Dublin based Republic of Ireland limited company. The Allied Irish Bank provides banking facilities. The company auditors are PriceWaterhouse-Coopers.
TradeSports.com uses a person-to-person sports 'Trading' model that allows the player to wager in an innovative way on sporting events. Using the same open exchange style as a stock or futures exchange, TradeSports customers make sports Trades directly with each other.
What is a Sports Trade?
Rather than using the confusing language of fractions like 6/5 or 11/2, each TradeSports "0-100" contract simply trades at a price between 0 and 100. The winning contract will expire at a price of 100; the losing contract will expire at 0.
TradeSports gets a fixed $0.04 transaction fee per lot that is traded.
It's interactive trading. The player can make trades on the outcome of sporting events before and while play is going on. The player (or the trader) has the choice of sticking with his trade, taking some profit or cutting your losses if he should call it wrong. All major sporting events are covered.
Website: www.ibetyourewrong.com/ default1.asp
IBetYoureWrong.com is another Betting Exchange Broker and it allows the player to bet against other people on sports events. In this case bets on:
'No More Bookmakers' is the slogan of IBetYoureWrong.com. A betting exchange eliminates the need for a Bookie, people can offer bets on any event listed in the site, if it is accepted by another user the bet becomes matched, awaiting the results of the event. Once the results have been updated by staff (every night), the winning amount is lodged into the winners account
According to IBetYoureWrong.com normal betting exchanges charge the player anything between 5% and 10% of his net winnings.
IBetYoureWrong.com takes the following fixed commissions:
When a player matches a bet he will see the price the offerer is giving, say $2.30 meaning for every $1.00 staked he will get back $2.30 the offerer will also give an amount which is how much he must bet. When the player offers a bet he sets the odds price and the amount stake to be accepted by someone else say he offers a price of $2.30 and sets the cost of the bet to $100, if he wins he gets the users $100 if he looses he will owe $230.
The website shuts down each day at midnight Australian time, to allow the results of events to be updated, all user accounts are updated at this time including winnings/ Losses. New events for the coming few days are also added.
In general the difference between lotteries and bookmaking is that lotteries are forbidden, however one or few operator(s) may be granted by the Government a permission to operate and bookmakers can start like any other business (free market).
Betting Act 1931 An Act to make provision for the better regulation and control of persons engaged in the business of Bookmaking, and for that and other purposes to amend the law relating to betting and betting-houses [23rd July, 1931].
According to the Act a "licensed bookmaker" is a person (not being a body corpo rate or an unincorporated body of persons) who is the holder of a bookmaker's licence issued or deemed to have been issued to him under this Act and for the time being in force.
Any person (other than a body corporate or an unincorporated body of persons) who is ordinarily resident in Saorstát Eireann and desires to obtain a bookmaker's licence may, after publishing the notice hereinafter mentioned, apply in accordance with this section to the superintendent of the Gárda Siochána for the district in which he has or proposes to have an office registered under this Act or, if he has not and does not propose to have any such office, to the superintendent of the Gárda Siochána for the district in which he ordinarily resides for a certificate (in this Act referred to as a certificate of personal fitness) that he is a fit and proper person to hold a bookmaker's licence.
Every person intending to apply under this section for a certificate of personal fitness shall, not less than one fortnight nor more than one month before making such application, publish notice of his intention to make such application at least once in each of two newspapers circulating in the district of the superintendent to whom he intends to make such application.
See for the complete Betting Act 1931: www.bailii.org/ie/legis/num_act/ ba193191/
Since the mid 1980s the Irish betting market has been a deregulated one. The halving of the betting tax from 20% to 10% was what enticed the influx of the UK chains into Ireland. Competition became very intense and even more when a further reduction in duty was introduced to 5% in July 99. There are effectively no barriers to entry to the Irish market; planning permission is the only one of note.
In his Budget speech last December, 2001, the Minister for Finance, Mr Charlie McCreevy announced that the betting tax excise duty would even be more reduced from 5 per cent to 2 per cent with effect from 1 May, 2002. Section 67 (1) of the Finance Act, 2002 gives legal effect to this measure.
The reduction in the rate was specifically targeted at safeguarding the betting industry by reducing the incentive for Irish bookmakers to move off-shore, in particular to the UK, where the authorities there had abolished betting tax on 6 October, 2001 and replaced it with a gross profits tax. Many Irish bookmakers had indicated that they could no longer compete with the taxfree betting that was being offered by UK bookmakers and were being forced to move part or all of their service abroad, in order to be able to compete with foreign bookmakers.
Betting and bookmaker associations:
The Independent Betting Arbitration Service was formed in the autumn of 1998 with the approval and support of the industry (over 90% of UK bookmakers have registered with the service). IBAS is funded by Trinity Mirror and Satellite Information Services (SIS).
IBAS is a non-statutory service and our rulings are not enforceable in law. Registra tion with IBAS is in no way a guarantee of a bookmaker's financial strength or its ability to pay on winning bets. Bookmakers who register with IBAS undertake to be bound by the rulings of its arbitrators. Failure to abide by an IBAS ruling would mean that a bookmaker had not honoured his obligation under the scheme which would result in the bookmaker being publicly de-registered from the service.
According to information from IBAS in Cork City alone, there are 26 bookmakers carrying the IBAS-label (and even not every bookmaker registered with IBAS).
See the list with bookmakers underneath:
We will give underneath information on a selection of Irish bookmakers and we try to highlight different aspects per bookmaker.
Website: www. supremeodds. com
SupremeOdds.com, the fixed odds division of SportsSpread, is an instant, fully integrated (telephone and internet) tax free betting company. Players may pay with a debit or credit card.
Betting options:
Sungold Entertainment Corp. (OTCBB: SGGNF, Frankfurt: WKN 608164) and Sungold Entertainment (SGGNF: BB) announcesd at April 4th, 2002, that its' wholly owned subsidiary "Horsepower Broadcasting International Limited" has entered into a strategic alliance with Irelands' only specialist spread betting company "Sports Spread" to offer the Award winning wagering game www.horsepower2.com to players on their fixed betting site 'Supreme Odds'.
Vice President of Marketing for Horsepower2 Alan Weinrib stated, "We feel this alliance will be dynamic as Horsepower2 gains excellent exposure within the European sports betting community". Mr. Conor Foley CEO for Sports Spread and Supreme Odds commented "We are really excited with the prospect of www.Horsepower2.com on our site. This is a very unique opportunity for our clients to win a guaranteed 1 million USD every 90 seconds." Kim Hart, CEO of Sungold Entertainment said, "This is the kind of partnership we are proud to see Horsepower2 developing. Both of our organisations have been innovators and leaders in providing exciting new betting products for our players. We are confident that the Horsepower2 progressive, real time, random, Million USD+ jackpot will be an exciting wagering opportunity for Supreme Odds players everywhere and an opportunity for both Supreme Odds and Sungold Entertainment Corp. to grow our revenues in 2002."
Horsepower2, prepared for the world wide internet fantasy wagering game, has been tested by TST Testing and been found to be a fair and completely random equal chance wagering game. Horsepower2 is fully licensed in Canada by North Americas number one online gaming regulator the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, operating from the Sovereign Kahnawake Territory in Quebec Canada. Horsepower2 recently won the International Innovator Award at the I.G.L. Conference held in Dublin Ireland.
Website: www.baggotracing. com
B&B Enterprises Ltd was formed in late 2000 by a small group of experienced punters who had found it difficult to get laid on sports wagers in the traditional Irish market. The initial welcome from Irish Bookmakers was quickly replaced by stake cut backs and account closures. B&B's initial entry to the market was facilitated by the purchase of the 'Jack Gamble' franchise, comprising of four shops in Dublin and was quickly followed by Baggot Racing, an established brand name built up over the last twenty years in the heart of Dublin with an enviable client list and a reputation for laying a bet.
B&B has now an experienced team of sports analysts led by one of Irelands leading odds compilers coupled with information technology professionals based in Ireland and the U.K. Above that European Ryder Cup player, Padraig Harrington started to promote the company. The management is confident that these elements combined will create the foundations of a successful and competitive wagering and information technology business capable of growing and sustaining a relatively significant share of the Irish/U.K. wagering market.
Betting on:
Website: www.bananabet.com
Soloist Limited, known under the productname Bananabet.com, is a fully licensed Irish bookmaker. Backed by 10 years' experience in bookmaking. Its site offers a comprehensive coverage of sports betting for the Irish and international markets. All bets placed with Bananabet.com are tax free. Banabet.com accepts Visa, Mastercard and Laser cards in addition to cheques or drafts made out in favour of Bananabet.com.
The minimum deposit acceptable to open an account is £10 with the minimum bet accepted being just £1. The maximum bet accepted is £200 while the maximum payout, including stake, to any one customer on any one day currently stands at £20,000. Increased limits tailored to players' individual requirements are available on request.
Betting on:
Website: www.cashmans-bookmakers.ie
Established in 1973 Cashmans Bookmakers is a Cork institution, with ten shops spanning Cork city and county Cashmans. Cashmans' customers can get a price on every horse, every day at every meeting or bet on a multitude of sports and events including Football, GAA, greyhound racing or golf. Cashmans are "The Original Pick The Numbers Bookmakers" offering customers odds on correctly picking from 1 to 7 winning numbers in the Irish and UK lotteries. Cashmans' slogan is:' 'most competitive bookmakers in the world' How can we cash in on that one!
Products
Website: www.easinumbers.com
Easinumbers.com, Licensed to Irish bookmaker Terry Rogers based in Ireland, has three main betting products:
For Easinumbers lottery games and for EasiBalls the minimum stake is US$1, Eur1, Cad$1, Sing$1, Stg£1 or HK$5.
According to information on Easinumbers.com website 'the world's leading lottery powerhouse' and is the First website in the world to bring betting on the outcome of world lotteries. It was launched in November, 2001, with an initial investment of Euro 2.4 million.
Website: www.hackettbet.com
Hacketts are, as they say, 'Ireland's largest independent bookmaker'. The company was established in 1965 by Cyril Hackett. From it's single shop beginning, the company has continued to expand, to such an extent that it now has 43 branches throughout the Republic Of Ireland, and two on-course offices. Hacketts also offer a telebetting service on all sporting events. Hackettbet.com offers a comprehensive coverage of sports betting for the Irish and international markets.
Betting on:
Website: www.betwall.com
John Wall Bookmakers is an established bookmaking firm (since 1975) based in Main Street, Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow, Ireland, with offices throughout Ireland. John Wall Bookmakers offers morning prices on all Irish horse races,1/4 odds on all horse racing in races with five or more runners. The best prices on all GAA (a.o.) Gaelic Football matches,Soccer and many more sports events. All bets are tax free.
John Wall's definitions: 'A bet is an investment on the outcome of a future event' and 'A stake is the amount of money invested in a betting transaction'.
Website: www.paddypower.com
Paddy Power is Ireland's largest bookmaker with a 30 percent market share and Paddy Power plc. is listed on both the London and Irish Stock Exchanges. Paddy Power Plc known as Power Leisure Plc was formed in 1988 via a merger of three existing bookmakers. In 2001, its first full year as a public company for Power Leisure plc., turnover grew by EUR 98.3 million to a record EUR 461.1 million, an increase of 27%.
Operating profit of EUR 8.5 million reflects the excellent profits in the licensed betting offices ('LBO') portfolio and telephone betting divisions of EUR 17.6 million offset by the start up losses of EUR 9.1 million on the on-line operations. This includes costs incurred with the on-line expansion in the United Kingdom ('UK') of EUR 3.7 million.
Paddy Power has five distribution channels:
Paddy Power is well known by its original and funny bets, such as:
Or bets for lottery-insiders:
And a bet for the Big Brother saga 2003:
The legislation on (betting on) Horseracing is laid down in the 'Irish Horseracing Industry Act, 1994'* and in the 'Horse Racing Ireland (Membership), 2001'.
* The long title of the Act is: "An act to provide for the improvement and development of the horseracing industry and for the better control of racecourses and for this and other purposes to establish a body to be called the Irish horseracing authority, to define its functions, to make provision in relation to bookmakers engaged in course betting and to impose levies on them in respect of such betting, to assign functions to the Irish Turf Club and the Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee in relation to horseracing, to dissolve the racing board and to transfer its properties, staff and liabilities to the Irish Horseracing Authority, to dissolve the appeal committee and to establish a committee to be called the Bookmakers Appeal Committee, to repeal the Racing Board and Racecourses Acts, 1945 and 1975, to amend and extend the totalisator Act, 1929, The Betting Act, 1931, And The Licensing Acts, 1833 To 1988, And To Provide For Connected Matters. [10th July, 1994]"
The most important information on Horserace Bookmakers and Betting, you may find underneath.
Prohibition of course-betting by bookmakers not holding permits from Authority:
Course-betting permits and course-betting representative permits:
Where?
In this section 'employee or agent' means?
For more information: www.bailii.org/ie/legis/num_act/ihia1994307
Horse Racing Ireland (Board of Directors) discharges it's functions through a business structure which includes the following wholly owned subsidiaries:
Before one can work as a Racecourse Bookmaker in Ireland, one must be in possession of a Bookmaker's Licence from the State and a Permit from Horse Racing Ireland.
The following Procedures must be adhered to by all applicants for a Revenue Licence:
The following are the requirements of Horse Racing Ireland precedent to consideration given to the grant of a Course Betting Permit:
A person in possession of a Current Horse Racing Ireland Permit is entitled to purchase Seniority on Irish Racecourses. Seniority means a right of priority a bookmaker acquires having regard to the length of time he has carried on business in a particular Betting Ring, as evidenced by the records of Horse Racing Ireland. There is a different Seniority List on each racecourse and usually entitles the owner to bet in a particular pitch. Seniorities are transferable but must be properly advertised for sale and are subject to Registration Fee payable by the buyer.
All Permit Holders are required to pay a Standing Charge plus a variable charge, at present 0.3% of their turnover, to Horse Racing Ireland and must observe the Regulations currently in force.
Conditions pertaining to any proposed transfer of seniority:
Website: www.tote.ie
Tote Ireland is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Horse Racing Ireland, with responsibility for the operation of a totalisator on the 25 racecourses in the Republic of Ireland.
Tote Ireland is providing a wide variety of betting options for all race goers. All the profits made by Tote Ireland are used for the improvement of Irish Horseracing.
'Tote' is short for totalisator and Tote Betting is similar to the Lotto. It works like this: all the stakes on a race are pooled, a deduction is made to cover costs and Totes contribution to racing. The remainder of the pool is divided by the number of winning units to give a dividend which is inclusive of a EUR 1 stake.
In other words, Tote customers bet into a common pool, betting against one another, whereas in bookmaking, they bet against the bookmaker. Tote odds may fluctuate according to the pattern of betting and the amount of money staked on each horse. Betting ceases at the 'off' of each race.
From March 8th, 2002, Tote Ireland and Tote UK are cooperating in a way that Irish punters are able to bet into the UK Tote pools, both on-course and through the Tote Irelands Tote Account telebetting service on a daily basis.
Common pooling will be available to Irish Tote punters on the principle race meeting in the UK and will initially afford punters the opportunity to bet on the Win, Place and Exacta pools.
From April 30th, 2002 three of Ireland's leading bookmakers operating in Ireland have agreed in principle to sign up for the British Horseracing Board's five-year data licence. The licence will entitle the trio of Ladbrokes, Stanley Racing and Paddy Power to use BHB's data for their betting offices and telephone operations in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
These three firms account for 300 of Ireland's 749 betting shops, while agreement has also been reached with the Irish Independent Betting Offices Association, which represents a further 350 outlets.
Of course in Ireland there is also an act on Greyhound Racing and Betting, the so called "Greyhound Industry Act 1958 Sect 25" (www.bailii.org/cgi-bailii/disp.pl/ie/ legis/num%5fact/gia1958251/s25.html? query=%7e+irish+greyhound+act). Additional regulation you may find in: "Greyhound Race Track (Racing) Regulations 1993 Reg 2" (www.bailii.org/cgi-bailii/ disp.pl/ie/legis/num_reg/grtr1993355/ s2.html?query=%7E%20irih%20greyhound %20act#disp1).
For more information on the regulations and rules in relation to greyhound race tracks, please visit the above mentioned sites.
The Irish Greyhound Board is a commercial semi-state body which is responsible for the control and development of the greyhound industry in Ireland.
The board was established under special legislation by the Irish government in 1958. This, the Greyhound Industry Act (1958) gave the board wide powers to regulate all aspects of greyhound racing in Ireland including the licensing of the different tracks, the issuing of permits to officials, bookmakers, trainers and the implementation of the rules of racing.
The Irish Greyhound Board has licensed a total of seventeen tracks in the republic, of which eight are fully owned and controlled by the board. The remainder are owned and operated by private enterprise. There are also a further three privately owned stadia in Northern Ireland.
The Board operates Tote facilities at all greyhound tracks and applies an on-course levy on all bookmaker's betting. These levies together with gate receipts have funded the industry and allows the Board to:
Website: www.24dogs.com
24dogs.com is owned and operated by 24dogs (Ireland) Racing Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wembley plc, a substantial British leisure industry company with a full listing on the London Stock Exchange. 24dogs had an operating loss in 2002 of £1.1 million End June (2001: £(0.8)million).
Following an extensive review early in the year of both this operation and the prevailing market conditions for businesses operating within media rights exploitation, the decision was taken to merge this business with the UK greyhound operation. It was clear that, in the current format, a profitable future for the exploitation of additional revenues from the greyhound racing content could not be guaranteed.
A provision of £2.3 million has been made within sale or termination of discontinued businesses to cover the anticipated costs of fully exiting from the business Wembley plc owns and operates greyhound racetracks in the USA (through Wembley USA) and in the UK (through GRA, the Greyhound Racing Association) and many other businesses.
Pool Bets:
Fixed Odd Bets:
Locations of casinos in counties and cities, and the names of the casinos in Ireland: