Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Darragh O'Brien for tabling the amendment. The Minister, Deputy Noonan, is fully in agreement on the need to provide protection for consumers and the supervision of operators providing online betting services is a first step in this direction. The Betting (Amendment) Bill puts in place a regulatory system for the remote sector, including betting intermediaries, who, up until this point, have been unregulated. The Bill provides that in order to offer betting services in this jurisdiction, a remote betting operator or betting intermediary must first secure a certificate of personal fitness from the Minister for Justice and Equality. This certificate of personal fitness determines whether a person is a qualified person to hold a remote bookmaker's or betting intermediary's licence and, together with the possession of tax clearance certificate and the payment of the appropriate licence fee, the certificate must be presented to the Revenue Commissioners to allow them to then issue a licence.

The Bill also includes specific grounds for the refusal or revocation of a certificate of personal fitness, including where a person stands convicted of an offence under specified Acts in Ireland or elsewhere, relating to the conduct of gambling where an applicant who has previously held a bookmaker's licence has in the past refused to pay sums due or conducted the business in a disorderly manner, or where an applicant is not a fit or proper person under the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010. In addition, the Bill specifically provides for the extension to the remote sector of the prohibition on taking a bet or engaging in a betting transaction with a person under the age of 18. Up until this point there has been no regulation of this area.

As the Minister said in earlier debates during the passage of this legislation, the introduction of this Bill is an interim measure pending the enactment of the gambling control Bill. One of the fundamental principles underpinning the gambling control Bill is the protection of minors and other vulnerable persons. That Bill will make clear the responsibilities of licensed operators when it comes to ensuring that these persons are not permitted to access gambling services. The Minister for Justice and Equality will be responsible for the monitoring of the activities of operators in this regard.

I am conscious that Senator Darragh O'Brien and others have sought an update on the position regarding the gambling control Bill. The Government approved the general scheme of that Bill in July 2013. I am informed that the scheme is currently with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and awaiting formal drafting. However, Senators will appreciate that a significant body of priority legislation dealing with societal issues, piloted by the Minister for Justice and Equality, is already scheduled for the Oireachtas in this term, including the amendment of the Constitution (marriage equality referendum) Bill, the Children and Family Relationships Bill, the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill and the Garda Síochána (policing authority and miscellaneous provisions) Bill. Accordingly, it is not possible to say when the gambling control legislation will be published but I certainly will convey to the Minister the comments of the Leader of the House and Senator O'Brien in terms of the view that this legislation needs to be seen as quickly as possible.