Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Viewers watching this debate may think that bingo players live exclusively in rural Ireland. That is not the case. There are very many bingo players in my constituency of Dublin Bay South. Women from Pearse Street play bingo in St. Andrew's Resource Centre at least once a week and they derive great enjoyment from it. If I can level some degree of criticism at the Minister of State, the legislation has not been explained well to people. The word has gone abroad that the Bill will, in some way, shut down bingo halls throughout the country. From my reading of the legislation, that is not correct. The Minister needs to announce the effect of this legislation in the Chamber tonight. We see from the legislation that it attempts to regulate lotteries. Of course, bingo is a form of lottery but it is not the only type. As Deputy Sherlock just mentioned, under the new section 26A of the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956 proposed in the legislation, if prizes total less than €1,000, there is no need to worry about the Act.

Organisers will not need to go to a superintendent or the District Court. They will not need to worry about divvying up the pot into shares of 50% for prizes and 25% for charity. It will not matter what they do. The Minister of State should clarify that there is no issue if prizes are €1,000 or less with no more than 1,500 tickets. Many of the bingo games in this country fall within that range.

If the prize is between €1,000 and €5,000, organisers will need to get a lottery permit. They will have to approach a Garda superintendent, who will issue a permit if the requirements are fulfilled. It is important to point out that lottery permits for games with prizes of between €1,000 and €5,000 contain no requirement for the pot to be divvied up into shares of 50% for prizes, 25% for the organiser and 25% for charity. That requirement only applies to higher-level bingo games with prizes of between €5,000 and €30,000 per week. Organisers of those games have to go to the District Court and apply for a licence. These games are subject to a requirement that no more than 50% of the take goes towards prizes. Up to 25% can go to organising costs and at least 25% must be for charity. This has not been explained well. It is complicated legislation and we need to provide confidence to the people who play bingo. Nobody is trying to stop bingo. Why would we want to stop it? There may be other people who want to stop this legislation, but I do not think bingo players are trying to stop it. We need to communicate the provisions of this legislation properly. I hope the Minister of State will provide clarification.

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