Mr. Martin Le Jeune:

I will address the first question on data before handing over to Ms Byrne or Ms Murphy to speak about shops and retail premises. We have the comparative evidence indicated by the Senator and it shows that for the past 15 years, levels of problem gambling as researched by the Gambling Commission in Great Britain have remained comfortably below 1%. In the past year to September 2021, they have fallen from 0.6% of those who are monitored and had a bet at least once in the previous year to 0.3%. I draw the attention of the committee to this because it covers a period during lockdown when there was much fear and concern about whether people betting online would develop more problematic play. It looks as if problem gambling, at least in that jurisdiction, is very static. We will find out if that is the case for Ireland once there is a regulator.