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

I thank Deputies for their contributions and apologise for any confusion that has arisen. I was out of the country dealing with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination for the past couple of days. I was away from Sunday until last night and the issue blew up while I was gone. I tried to deal with it on a connecting flight from Paris and determine what was going on.

The Bill was published two years ago. It passed all Stages in the Seanad, and Second Stage and Committee Stage in this House. Now, at the 11th hour, it has all blown up. Some colleagues, including Deputy Thomas Byrne and O'Callaghan, noted that a major, professional lobbying campaign was taking place. Deputy Martin Kenny also referred to it. Let us not be fooled about it: that is what happened at the last minute and it was an attempt to derail the Bill. I ask colleagues not to fall for that and to be wise to what is happening. People have called for a long time for regulation of gambling, gaming and lotteries, and this is the start of it. While it is modest, the issue has been overblown. Let us imagine what will happen when we introduce a regulator and get to grips with the heavy aspects.

Legislation is in place, including the 1956 Act. The Bill will update that. It is quite modest and no more. Under the legislation, which was amended in 2013, running a lottery with a prize fund of up to €5,000 requires a permit from An Garda Síochána, and that can be done every week. With the permit, away you go, and the lottery can be run. In 1965, the courts defined bingo as a lottery. It was decided in the Doherty judgment and I can convey the details to Deputy Shortall. For bingo events, there can be a payout of up to €5,000 every week, and in the case of the vast majority of local bingos in rural areas, that is what happens and the payouts are well under that. I have checked what is done in my area, where the payout is sometimes as high as €3,000 but that is it. Organisers are well covered with the permit and no change will be made at that level.

Deputy O'Callaghan pointed out that we will introduce an alleviation to lotteries held for charitable or philanthropic purposes not requiring a permit or licence. Section 9 states that section 26A of the principal Act will not apply to a lottery where the total value of the prize is not more than €1,000, where the price of each ticket is not more than €5, where the maximum number of tickets sold is 1,500, where the lottery is conducted for the benefit of a charity and where the promoter of the charity derives no personal benefit, as long as he or she has not conducted a lottery in the preceding three months. If there is a fashion show, therefore, and the organiser wishes to hold a lottery to raise a few more euro, this is how it will be done. Until now, by law, the organiser should have had a permit for that, although many organisers would not have had one. Now, there can be a lottery at a fashion show, table quiz or whatever it is, and the organiser will not need a permit, which will alleviate the issue and make it easier for clubs and organisations to hold fundraising events. For payouts up to €5,000, there will be no change and no matrix will be involved. The vast majority of clubs and organisations that run bingo events are in that space, and we will not do anything to them.

For larger prizes of between €5,000 and €30,000, that is serious money and the organiser must go to the District Court to seek a licence to operate at that level. For the permit and the courts, the judge and the Garda superintendent have to ensure that the person applying for the permit or licence is of good repute, according to the legislation. A licence to run a lottery will be given by the court and the payout can be up to €30,000 per week. The law states - we will not change it - that if such a permit is sought, it has to be for a charitable or philanthropic purpose. No commercial bingo is currently allowed under law and we do not propose to entertain it.

Currently, the 1956 Act does not specify how much money, if anything, should go to charity. If somebody goes to the court and applies for a licence to run bingo or a lottery, he or she has to name the charity that will receive the money but does not have to say how much it will receive. The Bill will provide that the charity must receive at least 25% of the proceeds, which many Deputies support. The vast majority of bingo events in towns, cities and rural areas will not be impacted by the provision because they are small potatoes compared with the larger events. At present, operators at that level can put up to 40% of the proceeds into their back pocket, which leaves 60% for prizes. We argue that 25% should be for the charity. The figure allowed to be taken for running costs will be reduced from 40% to 25%, which will leave 50% for prizes. In effect, we will reduce the prize fund from 60% to 50% of the take on the night, assuming the charity will receive little. Nothing will prevent an organisation at any level from topping up the jackpot if it wishes, as some colleagues noted. They indicated that, sometimes, organisers pay out 120% or 130% of the takings, perhaps because they have had a slow night. Nothing will prevent that from happening and many clubs and organisations do it already. I take Deputy Kenny's point but there is no reason to amend the legislation because organisers can top up the prize to make it more attractive.

I understand it. There is no need to change the Bill as it stands because of that.

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