Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Craughwell and the Independent Group for tabling this motion. It is important we take account of the motion under discussion, which "notes the establishment of the Inter-Departmental Working Group on Gambling in January 2018; considers it appropriate that due regard be given to establishing a Gambling Regulatory Authority; acknowledges that problem gambling can result in the problem gambler, and their family, bearing the severest economic and personal costs; recognises recent research published by the UK Gambling Commission and others which provide a list of the social costs of gambling, including loss of employment, experience of bankruptcy and/or debt, loss of housing/homelessness, crime associated with gambling, relationship breakdown/problems and health-related problems." The thrust of the motion is its call "on the Government to publish the final Report of the Inter-Departmental Working Group on Gambling and accelerate plans to introduce a Gambling Regulatory Authority." I and my party will support the motion.

It is important to articulate that in February 2018 Fianna Fáil introduced the Gambling Control Bill 2018. This legislation has the dual objective of effectively regulating the expanding gambling sector that has emerged in recent years, while also protecting vulnerable adults and young people. The legislation updates the heads of Bill published in 2013 by the previous Fine Gael-Labour Party Government, which was never moved by that Government. After half a decade of delay, it gives me no pleasure to say this, and I am not attributing responsibility to the Minister of State personally, but Fine Gael does not have credibility on this serious problem that is silently destroying lives.

We need effective regulation of this industry to give those who work in the sector certainty through socially responsible gambling. We are committed to working with the industry to build this new framework but the time for delays has long since passed. Legislative action is now needed. It is our understanding that the Minister of State has indicated that the group’s report is currently being finalised. We call on him to ensure that the publication of this report is expedited and that primary legislation is introduced as soon as possible.

The Bill establishes an office of gambling control as a licensed provider and regulator of the gambling industry across all its facets such as online, casinos and bookmakers. The office will be funded by the industry and is based on a comparable UK model. It would be the unified national regulator. This new agency will be self-financed through the industry based on levies and fees for licences. The Bill will include powers to prohibit or restrict certain games or equipment if they are harmful, including devices and games that are not yet in use.

It is a pity that there is not a single Government Senator in the Chamber, other than the Acting Chairman, who, like all of us, is independent when she is in the Chair.

These flexible powers given to the new agency are key to the Bill. They enable the State to move quickly along with technological developments and advancements and ensure that regulation is not left lagging behind by rigid fixed rules. The Bill also aims to curb money laundering and criminality that may use the gambling sector with robust checks and powers with respect to the Garda and international bodies.

Ireland has the third highest per capitarate of gambling losses in the world. We lose approximately €470 per adult on different forms of gambling each year. It is a fair assumption that many people do not gamble but many others are losing an awful lot of money. The latest figures show that gambling losses in Ireland totalled €2.1 billion in 2016, with more than €5 billion gambled, which amounts to €14 million per day.

According to a UCD study, more than 40,000 people in Ireland are known to have a gambling addiction, with single men under 35 most at risk. There have been at least 800 cases in Ireland where people sought help for gambling addictions in 2015. As the Chair outlined, a series of high-profile cases have heightened the scale and depth of gambling problems and the pressing need for regulation among sporting people. The book, Tony 10, which tells the story of a post office manager who gambled more than €10 million, highlights a lack of regulation of the sector.

The Minister of State is aware of many of these matters but it is important that we put on the record the harm that gambling can cause, although not to everybody. Many people bet on the Grand National and buy lottery tickets. We all accept that but in a modern age we need to move on from the Gaming and Lotteries Act of 1956 and various other laws which were probably valid and useful in their day. Technology has moved matters on.The growing sophistication of online artificial intelligence measures used to attract and entice gamblers means it is more important than ever to regulate this growing sector. Using similar methods to the recent Cambridge Analytica scandal, the industry can micro-target advertisements at those they know to be gamblers.

This Bill draws on long delayed legislation from 2013 which the Government has failed to move on. I accept that the Government is busy, particularly with Brexit, but this has been in the ether since 2010. We are committed to pressing forward with a legal framework to protect vulnerable people and restrict the sector. We will work with the Government and others to strengthen the Bill but after five years of no action, we will not accept any further delays. The Bill sets out the twin aims of regulation through a new gambling authority and protection through a social fund, age restrictions and staff training. It will be financed through a levy on the industry.

Gambling remains an extremely weakly regulated sector in Ireland despite the explosion of online gambling in recent years. We need a clear framework for socially responsible gambling. The Bill establishes an office of gambling control as the licence provider and regulator of the gambling industry across all its facets such as online, casinos and bookmakers. The office will be funded by the industry.

I wish to echo everything that Senator Norris said on gaming machines. It might be said that this is an issue for Revenue, An Garda Síochána or the Director of Public Prosecutions but the Minister of State, as a representative of the Government, must use his influence with his colleagues in the Departments of Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and Justice and Equality to find out why we have so many unlicensed machines and so many others with the cheaper amusement type licences rather than the more expensive gaming machine licences. It is estimated that this is costing the State more than €8 million in lost revenue every year.

Fianna Fáil supports the motion before the House but would point out that we have already published a Gambling Control Bill and would be more than happy to work with Senators from all sides of the House to progress it. Gambling is not a problem for everybody but it is a problem. As recently as yesterday we spoke about a person who is missing and who apparently lost a lot of money in a poker game the night before he disappeared. I hope that the individual in question is discovered safe and well but gambling is an enormous problem for some people. It is very invidious and is a silent addiction in some ways. When people drink too much or take too many drugs, that becomes apparent but gambling has cost people their jobs, their houses and caused untold horror and terror for their families. As legislators, we need to move on this issue and to do so quickly.