James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 47:

In page 66, to delete lines 7 to 9 and substitute the following: “(2) Subject to subsection (3), the Authority may, with the consent of the Minister, by regulations vary the amount of a maximum relevant payment specified in column (2) of Schedule 2 or the amount of maximum winnings specified in column (3) of that Schedule, or both, having regard to—”.

Section 82(2) of the Bill, as published and amended on Committee Stage, provides that the authority may, with the consent of the Minister for Justice, vary the maximum payment or winning limits in Schedule 2 to the Bill, having regard to the number of policies and principles. I now propose two technical amendments to this section.

The first, amendment No. 47, will make subsection (2) subject to a newly inserted subsection (3).

The second, amendment No. 48, will insert new subsections (3) and (4) into section 82. The new subsection (3) clarifies that where an authority varies any limits under Schedule 2 to the Bill, those variations will not apply to any gambling activities already under way when the variation takes effect. In summary, any games or lotteries already under way at the time the variation takes effect will be allowed to conclude in accordance with those limits that were in effect when the activity started. The new subsection (4) will clarify that a lottery will be considered to be under way where a person has already made a payment to participate in that lottery but the lottery has not yet completed.

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