David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A lot of work has been done on the Bill in the past 12 months. The legislation is with the Attorney General to provide for a number of specific changes to the current antiquated Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956 and I expect it will be published soon.

On the broader issue of gambling, this is a complex and evolving area of policy. We have carried out a lot of research in this area. On 10 January, I briefed Cabinet on the legislation and the Government approved proposals to make changes to the 2013 scheme of the gambling control Bill. The main changes are to establish an independent regulatory authority for the gambling industry. Under the 2013 approach the Minister was the regulator. This change in line with international best practice. A change is also being made to rationalise the licensing approach to gambling activities and to clarify the provisions concerning the licensing machines. We also recently established a working group, which I chair, comprising all stakeholder Departments and the Office of the Attorney General to develop a modern regulatory framework. The first meeting of this group took place on 1 February and a final report is to be submitted mid-2018.

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