The co-founder and former chief executive of Paddy Power bookmakers has called on the Minister for Finance to levy a 40 per cent tax on online gaming and casino businesses, which he said posed a “significant danger”, particularly to young men, and served “no public good whatsoever”.
In a letter, co-signed by several addiction specialists, Stewart Kenny described online slot machines and casino games as “the crack cocaine of gambling”.
These games were being heavily marketed here as “harmless fun” when they were anything but, Kenny said, while claiming that international gaming companies were taking advantage of Ireland’s “lenient” tax regime.
