Ladbrokes has successfully applied to the High Court in Dublin to seek the appointment of an interim examiner and to be provided with the protection of the court under the examinership procedure for their Irish retail operation.

The betting chain has almost 200 shops in Ireland and employs over 800 people but in February the company announced that it was reviewing its Irish operation. Ladbrokes' Irish arm generated an operating profit of just £4.4m (€6.02m) in 2014, down 56.9% on the £10.2m generated in 2013. That translated into a loss after tax and interest.

Sharon Byrne, chairperson of the Irish Bookmakers Association, commented: "It is a very worrying time for all of Ladbrokes staff in Ireland, and we hope the examiner will find a way to preserve as many jobs as possible.

"This is a significant event for retail betting in Ireland, which highlights the difficult trading environment betting shops are trying to survive in. With high fixed costs, rising media costs, unique tax on turnover, and international operators competing on mobile devices in every shop, traditional bookmaking is on its knees.

"Having a very large experienced operator in the retail betting industry such as Ladbrokes, and their years of experience and economies of scale unable to survive in its current form, it leaves little hope for smaller operators."

More on this story in The Irish Field on Saturday and online from 9.30pm Friday