James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I certainly hear what the Deputy is saying. He is raising a legitimate concern. Gambling is a legitimate industry. It is an industry that causes damage and that is why we have provision for the social fund in the Bill and will raise a levy to compel the industry to pay for some of that damage. Many people bet very safely. I compare it to alcohol in the sense that a lot of people do it quite safely but there is always a risk. People are on a spectrum and they move along that spectrum. Someone who is an addict today did not start out as an addict. He or she probably bet safely to begin with. That is why we have to protect people and why this Bill comes very much from a public health perspective. This is why we are banning all inducements that are targeted towards people in any way, shape or form and giving the regulator power to go even further and make those recommendations.

It is the regulator that will make those regulations, by the way, so we will not have those regulations until the legislation passes. It is up to the regulator to make them. It is taking a balanced and proportional view that to completely ban all such promotions would create a situation where there is no competition in the industry at all. There has to be some element of balance and promotion to an industry that we are not actually banning. We are protecting vulnerable people but to take the step suggested by the Deputy would be a step too far and is not something we have done in many other areas. It is something that can be amended down the line but the regulator will have the power to bring further recommendations and tighten it up even further.

See this speech in context