Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The information will help us find out what has happened.

Mr. Walsh, in his evidence that he gave on the last day, said:

The on-Tote revenues for horse racing and greyhound racing have continued to operate in very challenging betting environments since 2007, with a decline in Tote revenues of 67.9% at domestic horse tracks and 66% at greyhound tracks.

The issue was raised by others and I commented on it, as Acting Chair, that the drop in greyhound compared with horse racing needed an explanation. Mr. Walsh continued:

Therefore, when one compares on-track Tote performance, there is a very similar level of decline. HRI has managed to offset the on-track decline with an exceptional performance in international markets, which would include the US, South Africa, Canada, France, Germany and Italy. Of those markets, IGB is only allowed to operate in the US. It is precluded legally from trading in terms of Tote.

I have a few questions. The organisation has signed 16 contracts. Where are they? What are the jurisdictions involved? Why has the measure not had a huge increase in the board's revenue?

The connotation of what Mr. Walsh said is that the HRI has offset the decline with an exceptional performance in international markets. I looked up the HRI. The HRI's total tote betting in 2015 was €79.3 million with international pools making up €5.4 million. Of the totality, the sum generated by international pools is not a huge amount.