Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Bill. In many of our small towns, and some of the bigger ones, bookmakers and hairdressers are the only surviving businesses. I welcome the proposed tax on online betting, whether that be with Betdaq, Betfair or Paddy Power. I always believed the Exchequer was losing an enormous amount of revenue in this area. With online banking, it is now much easier to place a bet by way of an iPhone, iPad or a computer. This means bookmakers have to do much more to compete. I welcome that following enactment of this legislation when a person wins, for example, €100, by way of an online bet with, for instance, Betfair, the 3% commission charged by Betfair in respect of that win will now be subject to a 15% commission charge, money which will go to the Exchequer. I hope this provision will result in huge revenue for the State. While the amount likely to be collected is as yet unquantified, I believe it could be as much as €20 million. I suspect it will be much more. I hope I am right.

I congratulate the Minister on his work in this area. I welcome the extended opening hours for registered bookmakers from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. This is innovative legislation, for which the departmental officials should be credited.

There are difficulties with online betting because one could go into an exchange or go online to play roulette, cards or whatever. It is a major issue and one that has not been tackled enough. We should remind ourselves that gambling is an issue people do not talk about. It is concerning that man or woman can gamble unquantifiable amounts of money in his or her home. This must be examined by Government and people must be protected.

I welcome the 15% duty and the 3% online betting duty. I did not think it could be done, but the fact is that the Government has brought in this licensing initiative and enterprises must be licensed to compete or operate in Ireland. I congratulate the Government. I believe the measure will bring in a good deal more than the €20 million that has been earmarked because there is a good deal of online gambling which we do not know about.

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