Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 64:

In page 92, between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following:

“Prohibition of Credit Card Gambling

113. (1) A licence to which this section relates shall not be issued by the Authority to an applicant for such licence unless the application is accompanied by an undertaking given by the applicant in the prescribed form stating that if the licence is issued then, during the period to which that licence remains in force, that applicant as the holder of the licence—

(a) will not accept bets or otherwise deal in bets, as the case may be, placed using a credit card,

(b) will not accept bets or otherwise deal in bets, as the case may be, placed by means of an online payment system commonly referred to as an electronic wallet, or any other system to like effect unless, at the time the bet is so accepted or otherwise dealt with, there is a subsisting assurance given in writing by the provider of that system to the holder of the licence issued under subsection (2) as the case may be, that the provider’s system prevents, or there are other controls put in place to prevent the use, either directly or indirectly, of a credit card for the purpose of placing or otherwise dealing in bets with that holder, and

(c) will take all reasonable precautions to ensure that undertaking referred to in paragraph (a) is complied with by the provider of the system concerned.

(2) Where upon the commencement of this section the licence final day, within the meaning of this Act as appropriate for the licence concerned, that next occurs is more than 3 months after such commencement, then the holder of that licence concerned, being a bookmaker, remote bookmaker or remote betting intermediary as the case may be, shall 3 months after such commencement, submit an undertaking in the prescribed form stating that, during the period to which that licence remains in force, that holder—

(a) will not accept bets or otherwise deal in bets, as the case may be, placed using a credit card,

(b) will not accept bets or otherwise deal in bets, as the case may be, placed by means of an online payment system commonly known as an electronic wallet, or any other system to like effect unless, at the time the bet is so accepted or otherwise dealt with, there is a subsisting assurance given in writing by the provider of that system to the holder of that licence that the provider’s payment system prevents, or there are other controls put in place to prevent the use, either directly or indirectly, of a credit card for the purpose of placing or otherwise dealing in bets with that holder, and

(c) will take all reasonable precautions to ensure that the undertaking referred to in paragraph (a) is complied with by the provider of the system concerned.

(3) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), where the provider of an online payments system, or any other system to like effect, to whom this section relates fails to comply with an assurance given to a person for the purpose of a licence to which subsection (1)(b) or (2)(b) relates, then that provider shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—

(i) on summary conviction to a class A fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both, or

(ii) on indictment to a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or both.

(b) In proceedings for an offence under this subsection, it shall be a defence for the person charged to show that that person took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence.

(4) In this section—

“credit card” has the meaning it has in the Consumer Credit Act 1995 and includes a digital version of a credit card;

“placed” and “placing”, in relation to a bet, includes being placed or placing by remote means.”.

See this speech in context