The Federation of Irish Sport is trying to convince Ireland’s government to allocate more funds for the country’s sports organizations and the money should come from taxes generated on sports betting receipts.
Federation President Sarah O’Connor made the remark after pointing out that overall funding on the country’s sports organizations have dropped by 27 percent since 2008. O’Connor also pointed that since horse racing and greyhound racing already receive tax money the government gets from sports betting, other sports should receive the same kind of allocation to help boost their respective programs. That decision ultimately lies with the Exchequer, which is in charge of collecting and management of taxes and government revenues.
Since the government stands to receive more taxes from sports betting this year, the Federation of Irish Sports thinks that there should be more funding sources to be shared to various social sectors, including the development of the country’s numerous sports organizations.
Speaking of sports, one sport that’s always popular in Ireland is darts. With the PDC World Darts Championship on the horizon, sponsor William Hill believes that the 2014 installment of the event will generate a record-breaking handle that will validate the popularity of the sport and the increased interest in betting on the event and the sport.
“We‘re expecting our turnover on the William Hill World Darts Championship darts to smash £10 million for first time this year,” William Hill spokesman Tony Kenny said, as quoted by SBC News.
According to Kenny, betting action is heavy on 16-time champion Phil Taylor, who William Hill lists as a 2/1 favorite to add to his growing collection of trophies. Taylor, known as the “Hammer” in the circuit, last won in 2013 and figures to have stiff competition from defending champion Michael Van Gerwen, who William Hill has at 11/4 odds to successfully defend his title. In addition to Taylor and Van Gerwen, bettors have also put money behind two darkhorses, namely Gary Anderson and Adrian Lewis, who are 13/2 and 12/1 odds, respectively, to win the tournament.
The PDC William Hill World Darts Championship begins today, December 18, 2014 at the Alexandra Palace, London, and will run until January 4, 2015.
