James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I am pleased to have the opportunity to present the Gambling Regulation Bill to the House. I know there is significant support to progressing this landmark legislation and I look forward to hearing Members' contributions. Today is a true milestone for this long-awaited Bill. This is important and necessary legislation and reform designed to meet the challenges of gambling responsibly in 21st-century Ireland.

The advent of the Internet has wrought considerable and rapid changes to gambling activity, with more ease of access to gambling than we could ever have thought possible. Everyone, including children, can now carry a mobile casino on the phone in their back pockets. It is, therefore, vital for all concerned, both the individuals who partake in gambling and the companies which provide such activities and services, to have a robust regulatory framework with public safety as a cornerstone. The Bill takes a responsible approach to balancing the freedom to gamble with the safeguards to protect people from falling prey to addiction. It provides a clear framework for operators and consumers. Importantly, it is intended to help to protect children and prevent harm to people vulnerable to problem gambling.

The primary objective of the Bill is to present the framework for a robust regulatory and licensing regime for the gambling sector in Ireland. It provides for the establishment and statutory functions of a body to be known as údarás rialála cearrbhachais na hÉireann, the gambling regulatory authority of Ireland. The Bill aims to ensure gambling is conducted in a fair and open way for companies to make decisions with certainty. It will require safeguards to address problem gambling, including protecting children and addressing gambling advertising, and prevent gambling from being a source or support to crime. I am hopeful, with the support of both Houses, this Bill will be signed into law and enter into force by mid-2023, with the intention of establishing the authority later next year.

As part of the Government's commitment to establish a gambling regulator, in September this year, Ms Anne Marie Caulfield was appointed CEO-designate of the authority. Ms Caulfield is working closely with my Department to identify staffing and resourcing needs and to develop procedures for how the authority will function once it is operational. Ms Caulfield's ongoing preparatory work, in parallel with the passage of the Gambling Regulation Bill, will ensure the authority will be ready to hit the ground running once it is formally established. A phased commencement will be necessary in light of the scale and complexity of the transitional and operational arrangements for a new licensing and regulatory regime.

I am conscious that many people have strong views on the issue of gambling and Deputies will appreciate that there is a balance of interests and considerations in this legislation. The size of the gambling industry in Ireland is more than €6 billion annually, with an impact economically and for employment. Furthermore, gambling activity is an important fundraising activity for many of our charitable and local community organisations. l know many people occasionally gamble as a form of entertainment and for most people, it is nothing more than that. However, I am deeply cognisant of the fact that it has been shown that some of our population, in common with populations globally, are involved in gambling to a problematic degree. The side-effects bring poverty, worry and crime, as well as damage to families and personal relationships. The Health Research Board, HRB, in its report published earlier this year, has pointed to key trends in gambling prevalence in Ireland. The gambling industry is large, complex and technologically advanced. Furthermore, the necessity to counter illicit activities such as money laundering and terrorism must be paramount.

Given these factors, it is vital to establish an appropriately empowered regulatory body. This Bill seeks to provide safeguards to ensure a balance of appropriate regulation of operators and to protect against those who are vulnerable to problem gambling. It is important to highlight that the strategic approach of this Bill is that key regulatory controls are devolved to the most effective layer of authority. This level of subsidiarity will ensure an effective and empowered statutory body with ministerial, Government and Oireachtas oversight to an appropriate and proportionate degree. This will empower the authority to operate with agility with regard to licensing and regulation. This is critical in light of the scale, complexity and rapidity of developments in the gambling industry.

As Members will know, the general scheme of the Gambling Regulation Bill was approved by the Government on 15 October 2021. Pre-legislative scrutiny was undertaken by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice which issued its report in May 2022.

I have considered each of the recommendations made by that committee in the development of this Bill and while we may not get to address each point today, I look forward to ongoing engagement as we progress the Bill.

At this point, I wish to bring the following issues to the Dáil's attention. Regulation of the national lottery will not come under the remit of this Bill at this time. It is provided for in the National Lottery Act 2013 and has its own regulator. Part 9 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022, where it provides for lottery fundraising by political parties, will remain unaffected by the Bill. Excise matters are outside the remit of the Bill. The Bill will require notification to the European Commission under the technical standards directive as it provides for the power of the authority to impose legal obligations regarding technical standards in relation to gambling products and gambling-related services.

I will now outline the main provisions of the Bill. Part 1 is about preliminary and general matters. It contains standard provisions dealing with the Short Title and key definitions. It is important to note that further provision is required to ensure appropriate transitional arrangements are made for persons licensed under current arrangements. Work on this is under way and will be brought forward in Government amendments.

Part 2 provides for the establishment, statutory functions and funding of the authority. It will be operationally independent but subject to appropriate oversight. There will be seven members of the authority, including its chairperson. The Bill provides for the key role of the authority's chief executive in the day-to-day management of the organisation. In line with the recommendation arising from pre-legislative scrutiny, the Bill provides for the establishment and operation of a national gambling exclusion register to allow persons to register with the authority to exclude themselves from gambling online with licensees. The Bill provides for the establishment of a social impact fund. It will be financed by mandatory contributions, calculated annually on each licensee's turnover. However, such contributions will not be levied on charitable or philanthropic licensees. Its purposes are to finance research and related initiatives to address compulsive and excessive gambling, support awareness-raising and educational measures and support problem gambling treatment activities.

Part 3 sets out criteria for ineligibility to become a member of a relevant office, along with provisions on disqualification and removal. It sets out standard provisions regarding non-disclosure of confidential information and provides for an offence of providing false or misleading information. It provides for the restriction of rights and obligations under the data protection regulation and an amendment to the Freedom of Information Act 2014.

Part 4 provides for a number of prohibitions and creates related offences. A person who provides a gambling activity without a licence shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment and-or a fine at the discretion of the courts. The authority will be empowered to apply for various court orders such as to block Internet service provision of a prohibited gambling activity and to block financial payments to unlicensed providers. A court may also order that a gambling licence held by the licensee in question be suspended or revoked.

Part 5 deals with licensing of gambling activities. The Bill provides for the authority to manage a modern, streamlined system of licensing gambling activities in the State to replace the outdated and fragmented regime currently in place. As the Bill progresses, the Government will seek to ensure that the proposed licensing framework is as comprehensive as possible for the authority to fulfil its mandate. Part 5 provides for new betting licences to replace the existing bookmakers' licences and totalisator licences and a new gaming licence to replace gaming permits and licences. The authority may specify the types of games and activities that may be provided under a gaming licence. In addition, this Part also provides for a register of licensees to be maintained by the authority.

The Bill provides for a new lottery licence to replace lottery permits and licences currently provided under the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956 to cover, for example, activities such as lotteries, raffles and bingo. The Bill provides for a new type of licence that permits gaming, betting and lottery activities for fundraising for charitable or philanthropic purposes, such as local sports clubs and good causes. There is also provision for a new type of licence to allow for once-off lotteries of prizes of up to €360,000 in value for both commercial and charitable or philanthropic purposes. Persons who sell or supply gambling products, or who provide supporting or related services, will be licensed. The maximum stake and prize limits, broadly in line with current limits provided for in the 1956 Act, for each of the activities permitted under a licence are set out in Schedule 3 to the Bill. These amounts may be varied by the authority.

Part 5 also provides for two exemptions from holding a gambling licence, for charitable or philanthropic purposes where the value of the total prizes does not exceed €2,000 or for marketing purposes where the value of the total prizes does not exceed €5,000. To further the protection of children, Part 5 also provides that in considering an application for a licence, when determining the suitability of a premises from which to provide gambling, the authority must consider the proximity of the premises to schools and if gambling is offered elsewhere in the area. The authority is obliged to consult the relevant local authority and the authority's assessment of a premises will not supersede the role of a local authority in determining planning permission.

This Part also empowers the authority to set standards for gambling machines and software, related services such as their maintenance and upgrade and the certification of certain types of gambling equipment by the authority. The Bill provides for the establishment and maintenance, by certain licensees, of segregated customer accounts. This is an important safeguard for the public, built in to ensure appropriate governance and accounting in respect of funds.

Part 6 deals with obligations on licensees and other persons. This Part includes critical safeguard provisions about the protection of children, advertising of gambling, inducements and promotions, payment methods and the protection of participants in gambling. The Bill contains fundamental provisions to protect children from gambling, including the prohibition on allowing a child to gamble, prohibition on allowing a child to be on a premises, protections in connection with remote gambling, and prohibition of employing children in gambling activity. Part 6 provides for a prohibition of advertising that appeals, or is intended to appeal, to children. The Bill does not provide for an outright ban on gambling advertising or sponsorship.

Any advertising that promotes excessive or compulsive gambling, or seeks to misrepresent any perceived social or financial benefits of gambling, shall be prohibited. To address the proliferation of gambling advertising on social media, it is intended that persons may only receive gambling advertising where they opt in to receiving it on an on-demand or media sharing platform or in the case of social media, only where a person subscribes to such services and platforms and gives consent to receiving such advertising. Importantly, the Bill provides for a watershed prohibiting the broadcast of gambling advertising on television and radio between the hours of 5.30 a.m. and 9 p.m. The Bill also provides for a wide-ranging power to allow the authority to prescribe the times, places and events where gambling advertising can be broadcast, displayed or published, and to specify the frequency, duration and number of advertisements.

Part 6 includes several measures to address sponsorship and the supply of branded clothing and merchandise by gambling licensees. This Part provides for a new offence where a licensee offers any form of inducement to a person to encourage the person to gamble or to continue to gamble. This includes the offer of hospitality or VIP treatment, free bets or favourable treatment or better odds to entice a person to gamble. Also of note, this Part provides that following consultation with the authority, regulations may be made to limit or prohibit the offer of promotions by licensees that directly or indirectly encourage the public at large to gamble.

Part 6 also includes a number of measures to protect people while gambling, including a ban on the use of credit cards or the offer of credit facilities. There is to be a prohibition on facilities to withdraw cash at certain licensee's premises.

Part 7 deals with complaints. This Part sets out the procedures for a complaint to be made to the authority and the actions the authority can take in relation to an alleged contravention by a licensee of a relevant obligation.

Part 8 deals with compliance with and enforcement of obligations of licensees. This Part provides for key elements of the authority's regulatory regime, namely, its statutory powers in respect of compliance and enforcement. Where non-compliance is identified, and in determining what course of action to take, the authority will consider a range of factors, including the nature and gravity of the failure to comply. The authority will appoint authorised officers whom the authority may direct to undertake investigations. Following consideration of an authorised officer's final report on an investigation, the authority may take a number of courses of action, including referring the report to an adjudication officer for independent consideration. Adjudication officers will have extensive powers, including being empowered to hold oral hearings, call and question witnesses and request submissions or information from relevant parties. Where an adjudication officer decides that a licensee is, or has been, in contravention of a relevant obligation, one or more administrative sanctions may be imposed, subject to the exercise of a right of appeal by the licensee or confirmation by court on application by the authority. These sanctions are a financial penalty, suspension of a gambling licence, revocation of a gambling licence or imposition of a condition on a gambling licence. The amount of a financial penalty imposed as an administrative sanction shall not exceed €20 million or, if greater, 10% of the turnover of the licensee in the financial year.

This Part also provides for the authority to apply to the court for emergency orders in respect of licensees where the authority considers there is an urgent need to act in order to protect the public from the serious consequences of an ongoing contravention of a relevant obligation by a licensee or to protect relevant funds in a segregated customer account.

Part 9 provides for a range of appeals to be made by licensees in respect of decisions made by the authority. Appeals may be made, as provided, to an appeals panel or to the Circuit Court.

Ireland has been waiting a long time for this legislative reform. It would be remiss of me not to note the contribution of my predecessor, Deputy David Stanton, and his efforts to advance this matter and the development of this Bill. I am also grateful to my officials, the Attorney General and his team, and the many others who contributed to this Bill. It is a detailed Bill and covers many complex issues in a flexible, forward-thinking and principled manner. It has the potential to bring about considerable benefit and clarity for operators, consumers and the wider public. I commend it to the House.

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