Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Bill. It has been a long time in drafting. I commend the Minister of State and his officials on their work on the Bill. I also give due credit to the Minister of State's predecessor, Deputy Stanton, for his work.

This sector has seen many dramatic changes since the Betting Act 1931 and the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956. Most people would consider the greatest such change has been the introduction of online betting and gambling with the use of the mobile phone. Nearly all the betting and gambling carried out in those earlier times were cash transactions. Few people had an account or were able to conduct business over the phone. Times have changed and there is very much a need for this legislation to bring our gambling regulation into the 21st century. Gambling can take many forms, including the traditional bet on a dog or greyhound. There is a range of sports betting on everything from golf to tennis to elections and politics. Those normally have a human or performance feat, and then we have another world involving cards, lucky numbers or machine-generated numbers or symbols.

The main provision of the Bill is to set up a gambling regulatory authority that will provide a proper and effective licensing system to provide a safe regulation of gambling activities in Ireland. The Bill introduces safeguards to address problem gambling. The main concern of the Bill is those who are prepared to lose more than they have, often through addiction or economic pressure, by ensuring gambling is conducted in a fair and open way by requiring safeguards to address problem gambling and restricting gambling advertising. Other concerns addressed include preventing children being induced through advertising and promotion and other methods into the gambling world.

While gambling activity is enjoyed safety and responsibly by the vast majority of people in Ireland, we are all aware of the ill-effects of problem gambling for individuals, their families and society as a whole. This is why the creation of a social impact fund, as provided for in the legislation, is good for society. I understand this fund will finance research and information to support public education and awareness-raising measures related to problem gambling and to support problem treatment activities by suitably-qualified health professionals.

Another concern I hope is addressed in the Bill is to prevent gambling being a source of funds for or support to crime and money laundering. The Joint Committee on Justice held extensive meetings as part of the pre-legislative scrutiny of this Bill, with many of the stakeholders and interest groups, before issuing a comprehensive report that included 16 major recommendations on provisions to be included. I wish to know whether all these recommendations have been included to examine the feasibility of the pre-legislative scrutiny process. These recommendations included the possibility of blocking gambling operators that are not licensed in the State, further restrictions on gambling advertising, the possible prohibition of gambling and gaming with credit cards, more advanced verification checks on a customer's age, the siting of multiple gambling outlets in predominantly disadvantaged communities be discouraged and gambling operators being made liable to dependants and creditors of gamblers where they know or ought to know the gambler is making losses beyond their means.

There was also an issue there around decoupling sports and gambling advertising. It is a tricky area, especially if we look at horse racing. Last weekend, there was good horse racing meeting in Fairyhouse with three grade 1 races. The main sponsor there was a betting company. I do not know how we are going to break the link between a company supporting that particular racecard. It was on RTÉ 1 television. I encourage the Minister of State to look at that in a practical way.

I also thank the Joint Committee on Justice for its considered work on this Bill. I understand the new regulatory authority will be ready to start next year, once this Bill has been passed. I commend this Bill to the House and thank the Minister of State for his dedicated work in bringing it before the House.

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