Mr. David Hickson:

I will attempt to deal with Deputy Finian McGrath's questions. We have highlighted addiction issues and are responding to people's concerns. A concerned family member can contact an operator and flag concerns about a loved one. The problem our sector has is that following such a contact having been made, the Data Protection Act prevents us from engaging in a real way with these individuals. We would like some provision in the legislation enabling us to meet these individuals - which is typically what we try to do anyway - to discuss their concerns. We encourage them to bring the person about whom they are concerned with them to a meeting so that we can try to establish whether the concerns are justified and if the person with the problem can be encouraged to self-exclude or alternatively we can suspend. We lack the legislation to support us in that effort.

Money laundering is a myth - I suppose Hollywood in the 1930s must take much of the blame for this. Since July 2010 all private members card clubs are required to be registered with the AML unit in the Department of Justice and Equality. As such we are subject to inspection by the Department. We must engage in proper "know your customer" policies and procedures. Customers must verify their identify, typically by providing a copy of their passport or driving licence, which is retained on file. There is a proper membership system so that every visit to the operator is logged. In terms of player tracking, it is possible to monitor if they are coming in five times a week, once a week, once a month or whenever. If there is a change in their habits it can form part of the evidence when trying to assess if someone has a problem with gambling.

Once they are inside the venue we engage in what we call player tracking. We monitor if players decide to gamble with more than €200 or €300 and we keep a record of how much they might buy in for, how much they cash out for and overall how well or badly they are doing. This is what is expected of a regulated sector. The problem we have at the moment is that it is not an equal playing field. While some operators are very serious about compliance, others are less serious.