Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Craughwell and the Independent Group for tabling this very important motion, which Sinn Féin will be fully supporting. I also thank the Minister of State for being here this evening and for the work he has already done on this issue. I commend the Sinn Féin MEP, Ms Lynn Boylan, for all the work she has done to address problem gambling.

There is an urgent need for tighter regulation of gambling. Despite what some in the industry might argue, we are in the grip of a problem gambling crisis. Problem gambling is a condition where the affected individual has a continuous urge to gamble despite harmful negative consequences or, indeed, a desire to stop. In Ireland one can usually tell if there is a problem with an industry and its products when that same industry begins to fund support services. We have already seen the alcohol industry do this with DrinkAware.

In 2017, industry experts H2 Gambling Capital produced a report into global gambling losses across the world. It found that Ireland has the highest online gambling losses in the world and the third highest gambling losses overall, per head of population. To put that into real numbers, Irish people gamble and lose around €2.2 billion a year, or €470 per adult. Given the large numbers of people who never lay a bet, the data suggest that there are a lot of problem gamblers losing a considerable amount of money per year. In reality, we do not have exact figures for the number of problem gamblers in this State because the Government refuses to conduct a survey that would allow us get the full picture. This type of survey was carried out in 2017 in the North of Ireland and showed the rate of problem gambling there to be 2.3%, which is nearly five times higher than in England. If we were to use that figure for the South, it would indicate that we have close to 100,000 problem gamblers. The fact that we do not have a dedicated survey for the island of Ireland hinders our efforts to direct the necessary resources and support to those who need them.

The Gambling Control Bill, which is supposed to address issues in the gambling industry, has been gathering dust since 2013, despite the scale of the problem increasing. I am not calling for gambling to be banned but it is long past time for proper regulation of the industry by the State. People should be able to watch sporting events and children should be able to go online without being bombarded or targeted by gambling advertisements. We need proper protections for problem gamblers who want to stop gambling. We need responsibility from the gambling industry and above all, we need proper regulation.

Despite the great work of highlighting the issue of problem gambling by many journalists, advocates and charities and by a small number of politicians, there has been a complete lack of engagement from the Government. Sinn Féin wants to see a gambling regulator in place to administer a problem gambling fund, the purpose of which would be to help minimise problem gambling and its effects. The functions of a gambling regulator would include commissioning studies on the prevalence of gambling and problem gambling in particular, developing models of best practice in the prevention and treatment of problem gambling having regard to international experience and the views of relevant medical bodies and support groups. The regulator would also be responsible for public education and awareness raising programmes, the production of associated materials and resources for use by services, the distribution of funding to addiction service

I used to work for William Hill in marketing and public relations and for Mecca bookmakers many years ago. The psychology behind targeting people and getting them to gamble is a science in itself and we really need to do something to address it.That ranges from the colours used. I worked in the industry so I know. As a Government and an Oireachtas, we need to address this urgently because, as many speakers said, it is destroying lives and will continue to do so. I commend all the high profile sports players who have spoken openly about their gambling addiction and the impact it has on their lives. I thank Senator Craughwell and the Independent Group for facilitating this discussion. I thank the Minister of State who has the support of all of us in this House to do everything that is needed to put the proper regulation in place.