BAR One Racing may take over all of Ladbrokes betting shops on the island of Ireland.

Owned by Barney O’Hare, Bar One Racing already has 60 shops in Ireland. Ladbrokes, owned by Entain, has 108 shops in the Republic and 60 in Northern Ireland.

It was reported in The Sunday Times last weekend that Bar One Racing was close to finalising a deal to take over all the Ladbrokes Ireland shops but The Irish Field understands that the two parties have only initiated the process. Any deal is likely to focus on the Northern Ireland shops initially as they are more profitable.

Contacted by The Irish Field, O’Hare said he was not in a position to comment on the reports.

Founded in 1995, Bar One Racing reportedly made a gross profit of €17 million in 2022, up from €11 million the year before.

The profitability of Ladbrokes’ Irish business is harder to quantify. Its parent company Entain, which also owns Coral and has a share in US firm BetMGM, reported core profits of £1 billion in 2024 but revenue in Britain and Ireland for the same period was said to be static.

In 2015 Ladbrokes Ireland reported losses of €5 million and went to High Court seeking protection from debtors, mainly landlords from whom the bookmaker leased premises. The firm shut over 50 of its 200 Irish shops at that time almost another 50 have closed since.