# Irish charity backs casino plan

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2011/06/23/irish-charity-backs-casino-plan/
- Published: 2011-06-23T17:47:00+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**A major Irish charity, the Rehab Group, is backing plans for a casino in County
Tipperary and said it is interested in applying for a casino licence.  **

The statement comes just over a week after news emerged that the Thurles-born developer
Richard Quirke had been given permission by An Bord Pleanála to build a casino as
part of a €460 million sports and leisure facility at Two-Mile-Borris.

[Rehab](http://www.rehab.ie) said it supported the establishment of up to ten licensed
casinos in Ireland, including a small number of charity casinos.
‘‘In order to provide
high quality entertainment venues, Irish casinos should have about 30,000 square
feet in floor space and have the capacity to generate gross annual gaming revenues
in excess of €10 million,” according to Rehab’s submission to the review group obtained
by the Sunday Business Post under the Freedom of Information Act.

## Advertisement

The Rehab Group is a nongovernmental organisation which provides training, employment,
health and commercial services for 56,000 people with disabilities.
Operating gaming
and lottery activities has been a key element of Rehab’s fundraising programme over
the years.

[Rehab Lotteries](http://www.rehabbingo.com) is a fundraising company within the
Rehab Group. The company markets a range of scratch card lottery games through a
network of 1,400 retail agents nationwide and promotes online games. 

In 2009, the Rehab Group reported an operating surplus of €1.9 million on turnover
of €202 million.

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