Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the publication of this Bill, which is long overdue and urgently required. Our existing laws on gambling are hopelessly outdated and have created a situation where a significant cohort of our citizens are exposed to serious risk and hardship as a consequence of uncontrolled online gambling. It is said that a society can be judged by the way it treats its weakest and most vulnerable citizens. In that cohort, I include people who suffer a gambling addiction and whose lives are blighted by chasing losses and hoping for wins. Gambling addiction touches more than the addict caught in its grasp, however. It impacts widely on families, partners, children, the workplace and community groups.

Sadly, the State has been dragging its feet on introducing this new legislation and the limited enforcement of the existing limited legislation on gambling has done little to protect people who struggle with gambling addiction. Instead, it has allowed a vulnerable section of our society to fall prey to the increasing reach of highly sophisticated gambling companies. The rapid growth in online gambling, through the Internet and apps, means all of us have access to highly addictive games and formats at our fingertips. These online formats are run by highly sophisticated companies which are on top of their game in the operation and manipulation of players to bring them more and more into highly addictive gambling. For instance, a player might go on a website to place bets on a race, a match or even lottery numbers and then be enticed by free bets into taking a punt on a casino game, slots, a virtual race or the like.

In 2017, the Department of Justice estimated that the market for gambling in Ireland was upwards of €8 billion per annum. Most of that estimate was based on betting receipts, which were estimated, on the basis of betting tax receipts, at €5.22 billion, with the national lottery contributing an extra €800 million. No figures are provided by the Department, however, for revenues for online gaming. Some have estimated this could match the betting revenues. The figures from the UK provide a frightening backdrop to our discussion. According to a report by the House of Lords, 60% of the gambling industry's profits in the UK come from 5% of its customers.

It is amazing the types of things that can be gambled on. As bookmakers seek to increase their profits, the number of betting markets available during sporting events is increasing all the time. For example, during the England versus Senegal soccer game on Sunday night, I took a look at one of the prominent bookmaker's websites. I could back the result, the exact score, how many goals there would be in total, which players would score, which players would provide an assist, whether both teams would score, the number of shots a certain player would have on target, if any player would have a shot on target in both halves, the number of corner kicks in the game, the number of yellow or red cards, which players would be shown a yellow or red card, which players would foul and how many fouls they would give away. These types of markets are designed to keep as many customers as possible engaged and actively gambling all the way through the game.

In addition to this sports betting, we also see many different markets where bets can be placed, such as on politics or other non-sporting competitions. In four of the last five years, British punters have lost more than €14 billion annually in online casino games, sporting betting and other forms of gambling. It has been estimated that gambling addiction is responsible for more than 8% of all suicides in the UK. The most notable shift in the UK, which I have no doubt is mirrored here, is that remote gambling is now the dominant form of gambling there. Based on figures from the UK's Gambling Commission, it is not unreasonable to assume that online casinos here in Ireland account for close to €3 billion annually, if not more.

The pace at which the legislation is processed, the level of resources allocated to its implementation and, critically, the extent to which we enforce the existing gambling legislation will tell us much about how seriously the Government and all of us will take this issue.

I welcome the establishment of the gambling regulatory authority and the appointment recently of the CEO-designate, Ms Anne Marie Caulfield. I wish Ms Caulfield well in her role. She and her new team will have their work cut out for them. I hope the new entity will be properly resourced and funded.

The new regulatory authority will have responsibility for regulating global gambling companies with years of experience in managing regulations and regulators across a range of jurisdictions. Ms Caulfield will need to have her wits about her when dealing with these companies and will need access to the highest level of international expertise to ensure the regulatory structure here can be effective and challenging for the gambling industry. I do not mean any disrespect to the new authority but it needs to be clear that these gambling entities will know at first-hand how to play the regulator.

Over the past two years, I have become acutely aware of the impact of online gaming, in particular, on individuals who have been sucked into a spiral of addiction with entities that are expert at extracting money from them. I sought to get clarity from the Government as to the licensed status of these entities to see if there was any way control could be exercised over them. The practices that have been employed - free bets, free games and email marketing to people whose profile of play is concerning - are disgusting. I have no doubt the statistic showing that 60% of profits in the UK come from 5% of players applies here also. These companies know who to target and how to get them.

When I inquired about the powers to regulate e-gaming companies in Ireland, I was advised in a reply to a parliamentary question to the Minister for Finance that there is no provision for the licensing of e-gaming or online gaming in Ireland. In other words, the provision of online gaming, whether through online casinos, slot machines, virtual horse races, etc., is entirely illegal and in breach of our gaming and lotteries legislation. The current law in this area is the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956. The Act, while outdated, is clear on what it covers and does not cover. Any gaming that is not permitted under the 1956 Act is defined in section 4(2) of the Act as unlawful gaming. If the Act of 1956 does not include the provision of games and lotteries by remote means, as both the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, contend, then that gaming is unlawful under the 1956 Act and any person promoting or assisting in promoting or providing facilities of any kind of gaming is liable to criminal prosecution under section 44 of the Act. It would be helpful to hear a reply from the Minister of State on this issue.

Let us be clear about what I am alleging so that no one is muddled. I am not contending that gambling or e-gambling is illegal. The contention is that e-gaming is illegal in Ireland under our current laws. Online gambling, involving online casinos and online fixed-odds betting terminals, FOBTs, is not licensed or licensable in Ireland, yet FOBTs are being offered to Irish consumers on a host of online sites, some of which are operated by entities that hold betting or remote betting licences which only authorise them to engage in gambling rather than gaming. Equally, the fact that the Government is taking tax from the illegal offerings from remote betting companies and the Department of Justice appears to be offering certificates of fitness to these companies so that they can obtain a betting licence while clearly and manifestly breaking Irish law by offering illegal e-gaming services to Irish punters does not appear to have registered as an issue but it is one of great significance. Imagine the uproar, as I have said previously on the floor of the House, if it was discovered that Revenue was collecting VAT on sales from heroin, cocaine or prostitution, yet in the criminal law the position is no different.

It is also important to recognise that there are, of course, people who get enjoyment out of placing wagers on events and backing their opinion in a sensible and disciplined way. Gambling legislation must continue to make it possible for people to enjoy a sensible wager but must also be designed in such a way as to provide as much protection to problem gamblers in the State as we reasonably can.

Like my colleagues before me, I will table amendments to the Bill, which I hope will be a priority. Given the impact of unrestricted gambling activity on vulnerable citizens and their families, it is imperative that the existing law is enforced by the entities currently charged and funded with that responsibility.

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