'Small reprieve' as Irish bookmakers remain open over Christmas

Sharon Byrne, chair of the Irish Bookmakers Association, has described betting shops being allowed to remain open over Christmas as a "small reprieve" and has urged its members to be extra vigilant over the festive period.

Christmas celebrations will be cut short in Ireland with Level 5 restrictions being reintroduced on Christmas Eve but betting shops will be able to continue to trade, having been forced to close for six weeks when Level 5 restrictions were first introduced in Ireland back in October.

"I sent a reminder to our members on Tuesday for everyone to be extra vigilant," said Byrne. "The retail industry of Ireland are all in this together.

"We have to be so careful with regards to the number of people in a shop at any given time, which everyone is, but we need to be extra vigilant. Hopefully the country gets through this together but we need to be very careful over the Christmas period."

Byrne added: "The pubs will be closed so there will be a very different buzz around the place. People will not be hanging around the shops. They will be coming in to do their bets and then they will go.

"For lots of people, this might be their only outlet and they may not see anybody else throughout the day. It's a small reprieve in this mad world that we are living in that the shops can remain open during the Christmas period.”

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