Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to contribute on the Gambling Control Bill 2018. This comprehensive Bill, brought forward by Fianna Fáil, is mainly based on the general scheme of the Gambling Control Bill 2013. At the beginning of this year, the Minister of State, Deputy David Stanton, got Cabinet approval to draft an updated general scheme. Although he may have answered this already, why is the Government drafting another general scheme when it did nothing with the 2013 Bill? Is it not just time to accept this Private Members’ Bill and allow it to be amended on Committee Stage to make it the kind of legislation we need?

A key difference seems to be whether the badly-needed regulator would be fully independent or established under the aegis of the Department of Justice and Equality. The Bill before us has the regulator within the Department and provides for the regulation of gambling in Ireland. It is long overdue, given that our current gambling legislation dates back to the Betting Act 1931 and the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956.

Under Part 1, section 2, of the Bill before us, “gambling” is defined as gaming, betting or participating in a lottery or bingo and amusements. However, I note the activities of horse racing, greyhound racing, the national lottery and financial spread betting will not be governed by this legislation, and daily fantasy sports have also been omitted, as they were omitted from the 2013 Bill. Gambling through “remote communications” is also provided for in the Bill and means that the Internet, phone, television, radio and “any other kind of electronic or other technology for facilitating communication” is open to regulation. This is a very important aspect of the Bill because access to gambling has largely moved online.

Part 2 of the Bill sets out the functions of the Minister and the provisions for the establishment of the new office for gambling control Ireland, and outlines the characteristics of this office of State, including the functions of the chief executive and staff, codes of practice and so on. The Bill provides for international co-operation under section 14 while, importantly, section 16 provides for the chief officer of the office of gambling control Ireland to attend Oireachtas committees, if so requested. This is very important, given gambling on sports such as football and horse racing effectively operate as a single market in the UK and Ireland.

Section 78 provides for the establishment of an advisory committee on responsible gambling and that such a committee shall include a representative from the community or voluntary sector. I believe this should be amended on Committee Stage either to reduce the number of licence holder representatives down to one or increase the number of community and voluntary representatives to two or three. Part 7, section 79, provides for the establishment of a social fund within one year of the enactment of the Bill. Section 80 sets out the purposes of the fund, which will be to “promote socially responsible gambling”. I believe many people would question that phrase very strongly.

It is true that most people like an occasional flutter on the national lottery or EuroMillions, or on the Grand National, the Derby or the Gold Cup. This is a long-standing tradition for many Irish people, including in the area I originally come from, where Punchestown was a very important festival for local people, in particular farmers.

Many people wonder if there is or can be such a thing as "socially responsible gambling" given the devastation that all kinds of gambling has wrought on so many Irish citizens and families. This has been greatly exacerbated by the explosion of online gambling in the past two decades. The public knows that the massive profits of companies such as Paddy Power Betfair and Ladbrokes are based not on occasional flutters but on hardcore gambling addiction which profoundly impacts many people.

The human cost of gambling addiction is real and particularly acute in Ireland. Recent statistics from the Rutland Centre have shown that there was a threefold increase in presentations with gambling addictions, up to 9% compared to 3% three years ago. Other reports have shown that one in ten people in Ireland have a serious gambling problem and The Economistnamed Ireland as having the third highest rate of gambling losses per capitain the world in 2017, at almost $500 per adult. We were listed as among the highest spenders on online gambling.

This is an important Bill and I commend Fianna Fáil for bringing it forward. There were references in some of the literature and responses to the Bill to the nanny-state but that argument does not really wash when one listens to the devastating real-life testimonies from people such as Galway hurler Davy Glennon, who has publicly spoken about his struggles with gambling addiction, which began when he was 16 years of age. We have also heard recently the tragic story of Tony O'Reilly of An Post and the devastating impact of his addiction on himself and his family. I admire the incisive and witty writing of Declan Lynch of the Sunday Independent who has written very powerfully on the appalling impact of gambling addiction on families and individuals in our country. When we hear these stories we have to take a very clear and strong view of gambling. That is why we should have dealt with this legislation even ten or 15 years before the Gambling Control Bill 2013.

With regard to the social fund, Paddy Power's submission urged the Government to explore the UK model of operators voluntarily contributing to the Responsible Gambling Trust, RGT, instead of basing the contribution on turnover. According to problemgambling.ie, however, just 63% of licence holders contributed during 2014-15. In 2013, £6.5 million was paid into the RGT while profits of £1.42 billion were posted for the industry. Last week, Paddy Power Betfair's first quarter profit announcement showed that its earnings dropped 6% since the famous merger but it is still expecting a full year result of between £470 million and £495 million. Paddy Power Betfair reported an 18% increase over expectations during 2017 and this year is increasing its marketing spend by £20 million. Apart from the monetary and addiction problems, this website also claims US statistics show that one in five problem gamblers attempt suicide.

In the UK the Gambling Commission comes under the remit of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Gambling Act 2005 updated its laws and it is examining updating them further because it allowed casino type development and the proliferation of online gambling without taking urgent action. The UK Government is also considering lowering the maximum stake that can be paid into fixed odds betting terminals, FOBTs, or slot machine-type betting. It is good that type of gambling has been outlawed here. At the same time, all eyes are on the potential US market because it looks as if it will repeal its very strong gambling laws.

It is estimated that approximately 6.8 million people across the European Union are gambling online and the 2015 revenue for that sector of gambling was expected to be around €13 billion. The total gambling market in the EU is worth approximately €85 million. I welcome the Bill and section 28(3)(b) which provides for the licensed premises to provide proof of adequate insurance cover and health and safety certification and so on before being licensed. Chapter 5 and section 52(4) are also very important if we are to have a credible system of regulation. Part 4 provides for monitoring and compliance. Part 6 provides for safeguards and section 70 is very welcome where it states that credit facilities shall not be permitted. Section 72 bans the employment of young people in delivering a licensed gambling service. There are many very welcome provisions and I hope this legislation will speedily move to Committee Stage. Gambling deserves intense and ongoing scrutiny. Its negative impacts and the testimonies we have heard of people with addiction must be closely listened to. We need a strong system of regulation.

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