A new event for bookmakers in Ireland has been created. Its purpose is to plug a gap by bringing together key suppliers to independent bookmakers in Ireland. The Irish Bookmakers Forum (IBF) will take place on the 23rd November 2017 at the Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth. https://www.irishbookmakersforum.com/
For many years there has been an event designed to bring together the UK’s independent bookmakers. But expecting a significant number of smaller bookmakers from Ireland to make the annual trip over has proved to be tricky in these testing times. We recognised it was time to organise an event where suppliers are brought to them instead. We asked all the exhibitors at the UK event to join us at this inaugural event.
Approximately 12% of Irish adults bet with a bookmaker weekly (Source: GambleAware.ie). It is estimated that each betting office employs five/six people on a full-time or part-time basis. This translates into total employment of around 8,000 full-time or part-time jobs between shops and head offices (Source: Irish Bookmakers Assoc. 2016).
There are 855 betting shops in Ireland. Turnover for the smaller independent groups was €2.61 Billion in 2014 (Source: Irish Bookmakers Assoc. 2016).
Outside of our main clients Ladbrokes Coral, Paddy Power Betfair and the New Zealand Racing Board, MRG facilitates three bureau services in Ireland plus solutions to several smaller independent groups. If you don’t count our biggest clients, our penetration of the independent market means that over 240 shops (28%) receive a service which is managed by our software and its associated hardware.
The independent market attracts suppliers from various sectors and so provides a good platform on which to create this new event. Screen management software and digital signage products, EPOS, gaming software and data suppliers are all represented.
It is our ambition to make the Irish Bookmakers Forum a permanent annual fixture in the Irish betting calendar.