Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Bill and congratulate Senator Craughwell for the amendment he brought forward seeking a Government health warning and Senator Darragh O'Brien for the amendment brought forward by the Fianna Fáil Senators today. I wish both those amendments had been accepted because they were excellent amendments dealing with the issues of a Government health warning and Government accountability in terms of what measures are being take to protect vulnerable people from engaging in harmful gambling. It is very important for us to take measures in the area of gambling control.

I foresee difficulties with this because some issues arise that are very similar to those that arise in the areas of alcohol and tobacco. We see how the vested interests are not slow to get their act together and to lobby politicians and those in the corridors of power. Of course, we have lobbying legislation that will, hopefully, make all of that more transparent. When I occasionally watch racing on St. Stephen's Day or Easter Monday, the power of the gambling industry lobby and their advertising in particular is quite noticeable. The same issues arise when we talk about the dangers of sponsorship of sporting events by alcohol companies and the way that lures young people into a culture of drinking. There is no doubt that this is a fact and a problem. The same thing can be said about these advertisements for betting companies. They are very slick and are targeted at a particular demographic, namely, young men, encouraging a culture of bravado and recklessness. There is no doubt about the truth of what Senator Craughwell said. It is possible to win fortunes in an instant but one is much more likely to lose fortunes.We must be worried about the families that are being endangered and the family resources that are being compromised in an upstairs room by somebody gambling online, before anybody even knows about it.

We have to address this issue. We cannot be wring our hands about the cynical activities of the tobacco industry and the way it seeks to resist controls, plain packaging or whatever or the behaviour of the drinks companies as they seek to water down efforts to prevent the way in which they influence the culture and at the same time pretend that there is no such problem going on in exactly the same way with gambling and the betting industry. I appreciate that people have jobs in the betting industry, and I know this helps, directly and indirectly, the bloodstock industry, which is very important as well.