Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We all know that there are people who can enjoy an odd flutter at the races. However, there are others who cannot limit their betting to a day at the races or a night at the dogs. These people are classified as problem gamblers. According to a recent UCD study, there are over 40,000 people in Ireland with gambling addictions, with single men under 35 most at risk. This is very much a silent addiction which can escalate and get out of control very quickly. If one is a problem gambler with an online betting account that has no spending limit, one can literally throw away thousands of euro a day. The majority of online gambling accounts will be set up with a debit or credit card. It takes seconds to transfer money and place a bet. This is lethal for a problem gambler. The most vulnerable people we need to protect are those who sit at home alone on Saturdays and Sundays, when there is sport on all day, glued to their laptops, tablets or phones and feeding money into their accounts in order to place bets. They are not physically handing over cold hard cash as they do in the shops and at the races. This takes the sense of reality out of online gambling. They are effectively playing with Monopoly money and do not realise the gravity of their losses until it is too late.

Advertisements and sports sponsorships for cigarettes and alcohol are heavily regulated and almost non-existent these days. It is time for the sports industry to get its act together with regard to gambling. I challenge Deputies on the Government benches to take note of the television advertisements the next time they are watching a high profile sporting event. Every second or third advert is for a betting company, usually online. Sports websites and the sports editors of our print media must also take note of their moral responsibility in this regard. If I am a recovering gambling addict and I sit down to watch a match, read the sports pages of a newspaper or catch up on a sports website, I am bombarded by betting advertisements which could cause a relapse. We need effective regulation for this industry to give those who work in the sector certainty through socially responsible gambling. We are committed to working with the industry to build this new framework but the time for delays has long since passed. Legislative action is now needed. We cannot underestimate the dangers of gambling addiction for young people. I ask the Minister of State to take this on board. The sooner we do something about it before any more damage is done, the better.

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