Michael McDowell (Independent)
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I welcome the witnesses and thank them for their contributions and submissions. On the dangers of gambling, gambling addiction and the damage it does, does anyone have a problem with the general thrust of the Bill, which seems to regard gambling as something that can be controlled but, in general, should not be discouraged? In that context, I will raise a number of points. First, in respect of amusement arcades or, as they are colloquially known, casinos, under the present law, one cannot operate a casino legally and it is a crime to do so in any area where the local authority has not adopted a resolution under Part III of the 1956 Act. That is being flagrantly breached day in and day out in Dublin. The Revenue Commissioners seem to be complicit in this criminal activity in that they are issuing licences to people to operate in places for which there is no local authority resolution. I do not know what is happening with the Revenue Commissioners that they consider themselves to be entitled to license individual machines for operation in a manner that is criminal. That is, however, what is happening. I ask for feedback on that point.

I am also conscious of fixed-odds betting terminals, FOBTs. The Bill seems to envisage that they will be licensable right across the country. I do not see any planning control over where they will be made available or by whom they will be operated. I do not see any policy in this legislation to stop this practice. Fixed-odds betting terminals are a form of taxation on the gullible, to put it in the most benign way.

The third point I raise is on gambling generally. I note an article in today’s TheCurrency, the online business magazine, by Fintan Drury, who was formerly in Paddy Power. In it, he calls on Irish legislators to look at the problem of gambling, not simply to facilitate it with this legislation. I can see Mr. Grant nodding. Calling for this legislation to be enacted is to call for the widespread diversification of gambling unless we have countermeasures in place to keep gambling under control. There is nothing in this proposed Bill about the number of licences that can be granted and nothing which discourages gambling arcades, or whatever, anywhere in the country. I fully support the general drift of what the witnesses are saying, namely, that there are problems with gambling and there must be controls, but this proposed legislation does not do any of that. It is silent on it and seems to be enabling gambling. The very phrase "the gambling industry" prompts me to ask is this an industry that we want to encourage? I am against it. I am a liberal but I am against it because I see the damage it is doing to many people, including good friends of mine who have been destroyed by gambling addiction. I am not a gambler myself, just in case anybody thinks I am a zealot.

Whereas this Bill brings in possibilities of control, the general scheme seems to be that gambling is fine. I notice that head 69 proposes that anybody providing any goods or services can operate a lottery to encourage its purchase, with a limit of €5,000 in prizes. In other words, if you are selling widgets, biscuits or anything like that, you can, without a licence so long as the prizes remain under €5,000, offer lottery-type inducements to purchase your goods. Has any person queried whether this is a good or bad idea? I do not see anybody doing this and I have to say that Fintan Drury’s article today very much caught my attention in that he says that Irish legislators are sleepwalking effectively into a disaster which has already happened in England. I would be interested to hear any of our guests' views on these points.