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

I hope the Minister will be able to clarify. One of the requests of the groups and people I have met is that there would be a complete ban on all inducements, including free bets, free spins or that people get €20 or €30 if they sign up. It is my understanding, and I will stand corrected if I am wrong, that the Minister of State said that specific people and groups cannot be targeted. I think it is 80% of the money gambled comes from 20% of people. I do not know if that figure is wrong but I think it is accurate. These major international global gambling companies know which people are likely to bet the most. I gather from what the Minister of State said that this would ban them from targeting those specific people or groups. However, the Government should go further. There should not be any inducements whatsoever.

My daughter, Aoife, turned 18 last week. If she gets an advertisement on social media, such as TikTok or Snapchat, about €20 or €30 of free bets if she joins a gambling company, it is money for nothing. Why would she not take it up? Then she is signing up, not only her, it could be anyone. As soon as they turn 18 they will be targeted. Everyone will be offered these free bets. I just want to check that.

What we have seen with advertising - I understand the Minister of State is trying to cover this with the advertising as well - is that the offer of free bets, the inducements, are a way of drawing people in. I have no problem with people gambling. My family and friends and the vast majority of people enjoy gambling. It is a form of entertainment. There is a big industry with horses and other people behind the scenes. That is not the issue. The issue here is about young people, vulnerable people, people at risk of gambling hard and people in the throes of addiction and giving an inducement to a vulnerable person.

The other problem is that people get inducements from all the companies. They do not just get one from, for example, Paddy Power. Ladbrokes offers inducements, as do all the different companies. People who might have had no interest in gambling sign up because they get these free inducements and then they have accounts. Once people have an account, the chances of them gambling increases. The vast majority of the inducements are targeted at people signing up to new contracts. Some are different, but the Minister of State needs to look at that. We need to protect people. I have no problem with people wanting to gamble, but I have a problem with these massive companies manipulating people by giving them free bets and them putting them on.

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