Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and this very important legislation. It was an open goal that citizens and the country should have been scoring for a long time in terms of collecting money from online gambling. As has been pointed out, traditional bookie shops pay rates, taxes and everything else. Just because technology has advanced does not mean that the people who have embraced that technology - I will not name any particular organisation, but we all know who they are - do not have a responsibility to contribute to society also. The money collected in taxes on online gambling will go towards providing support and treatment for those with a gambling addiction. The organisations involved have a responsibility to fund the taxpayer who funds these programmes and from that perspective the measure is very welcome.

I was very happy, as a member of the justice committee, to engage substantially on the report we were asked to compile by the then Minister Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter, on the issue of gambling. A number of very interesting points arose during our engagement with the various stakeholders involved, one of which was that online gambling was not taxed, an aspect that will now be remedied, thankfully.

My colleague, Senator Michael D'Arcy, spoke about virtual gambling. I support his call for a complete ban because it has no place in a civilised society. I disagree with having a computer located in the heart of London, for example, generating hobby horse races. I did not even know there was such a thing until the hearings of the justice committee took place. When I carried out my own research, I discovered how ridiculous the races were. It is like giving free drink to an alcoholic in order to attract him or her; the situation is similar in the case of virtual poker games. I suggest that, owing to the damage virtual gambling does, we look at banning it.

In the case of traditional bookie offices, we need stricter criteria and more fines for allowing young people to frequent such premises because they will be sucked in by the culture of gambling. Just because young people are not placing a bet does not mean that they will be unharmed. In fact, they should be not on the premises in the first place.

Another issue concerns uncollected winnings. It appears that bookies make a substantial amount of money when there are uncollected winnings and even more when there are non-runners. Apparently, if one places a bet and the horse does not run, one is entitled to get one's money back. A substantial number of people do not realise this or are unaware that the horse on which they placed a bet did not run. They simply check to find out which horse has been placed first, second, third, fourth or fifth and if they do not see the horse on which they have placed a bet among the winners, they dump the docket. A logical suggestion was made at the justice committee meetings that if the money was not collected after 12 months, it should be lodged in a dormant funds account. That would mean that eventually the money would be used for the benefit of the Irish taxpayer when it could easily be ring-fenced to support treatment programmes. It appears that the gambling industry needs to be tidied up. As legislators, we all have a responsibility to tidy it up as much we possibly can. Technology is great but, unfortunately, it facilitates those who have a gambling addiction. This is something for which we must take responsibility. In the case of non-runners, millions of euro is retained by bookie offices the length and breadth of the country. This money should be deposited in a dormant funds account. The same should happen in the case of uncollected winnings after a 12 month period has elapsed. We must find a way to allow the money to be used for the benefit of society.

Unfortunately, gambling now takes place online and has moved underground in a similar fashion to prostitution, a matter which has been spoken about significantly in this House. We have also spoken about the issue of the availability of escorts on line, on which action also needs to be taken.

The main bookmakers and gambling providers in this country wish to have regulation. Many other countries have regulation so it would be a correct step, both ethically and morally, to have it.

Finally, I commend the Leader of the House. When he was opposition in the last Seanad he brought forward legislation on gambling and I am sure he, as a legislator, is happy to see that his efforts were not in vain and that we are seeing progress in the right direction.