Following the decision of William Hill to close its Irish call centres and relocate them to the UK, resulting in the loss of over 300 jobs, industry group leaders have warned that there could be thousands more jobs lost, if what they see as the inequality between Ireland and the UK and offshore betting centres is not dealt with.

Stewart Kenny, chief executive of Power Leisure and spokesman for the Allied Betting Shops Association warned that his organisation had found a way to circumvent some of the country's punitive betting taxes by moving its internet service to the UK, and that many other operators had demonstrated willingness to follow suit, which could place many Irish jobs under threat.

Mr Kenny, and his counterpart at the Irish Independent Betting Offices Association, Brian O'Farrell are set to meet Mr McCreevy later in the year to discuss the problem, and are understood to be angling for measures similar to those introduced in the UK, which led to a substantial increase in turnover when implemented earlier this month. The CEO of Power Leisure claims that a 15% gross profits tax or a reduction of the betting tax rate to 1% would be sufficient to placate worried bookies.

The dispute over betting tax in Ireland is not a new one, and the issue was raised several years ago in discussions about offshore betting centres and their effect on the industry. As one Irish operator observed at the time: 'How can a bookmaker pay his staff, pay VAT and PAYE and PRSI and at the same time charge his customers a betting tax of 10% while offshore operators...offer tax free betting to the public. In order to survive we need to be able to compete through a fair and equitable tax.'