Arthur Cox is Ireland’s largest law firm and has a long established history in the US, having opened our office there in 1980. An international firm, we comprise 300 lawyers, including 96 partners. We are an “all-Ireland” law firm, with full-service offices in Dublin and Belfast. The firm also has an office in London. We offer breadth and depth across every facet of corporate, financial and business law and have the resources to successfully manage and drive forward transactions on schedule, helping our clients achieve their business objectives. We have a dedicated US Group which co-ordinates all of the firm’s US activities.

This article looks at Directive 2007/44/EC regarding the prudential assessment of acquisitions in the financial sector. The Directive must be implemented in EU member states by 21 March 2009.

Gaming in Ireland is regulated under the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956, as amended, (the "1956 Act"). The 1956 Act has not been updated to specifically address online gaming. Ireland also has a thriving licensed bookmaking industry which is regulated separately under the Betting Act 1931 and multiple other amending Acts and Regulations, which create a regulatory framework that is operated by the Revenue Commissioners (off-course) and Horse Racing Ireland (on-course).

The Finance Act 2008 contains good news for the funds industry as it will ease the tax administration burden arising out of the deemed disposal rules introduced in the Finance Act 2006. The Act also extends relief for reconstructions and amalgamations of funds to include reconstructions / amalgamations of umbrella funds. Finally, it also contains measures to disallow relief from capital gains tax on a transfer of assets between companies designed to prevent assets being transferred to Irish funds tax efficiently so as to facilitate a future sale of those assets.

This article was first published in the March edition of the Journal of International Banking and Financial Law.