Shane Cassells (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the issue of the forthcoming legislation regarding the gambling industry and pay tribute to my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, who is preparing to tackle this issue. The speed at which gambling addiction has risen in this country is frightening. Some years ago there was a move to put a casino in Tipperary and they thought the place would be turned into Las Vegas. Now every teenager and, indeed, adult, is walking around with a casino in his or her pocket.Worse, that device is the greatest weapon that gambling firms have for targeting their addicts. Through the work of their social media teams, they have hooked people with targeted ads and fed their addiction.

The specific issue I am raising pertains to the legislation on the advertising of these insidious products in the gambling world. One cannot turn on a sports bulletin on Sky Sports without it being sponsored by a casino. My nine-year-old who wants to watch the sports news sees that, as does every other child. The sports pages in our newspapers have banner ads for casino firms and social media is a free for all.

I welcome the move by the Minister of State, who will next month start the process of appointing a much-needed gambling regulator. What is also needed is for all of our sporting bodies, regardless of the forthcoming legislation, to lead the charge and reject the lure of these firms' cash. I know doing so would be hard, especially in these times, but it is a little like the situation with tobacco companies previously. Yesterday, I spoke to the chief executive of Basketball Ireland, Mr. Bernard O'Byrne, a man who has become well versed over the decades in the sporting bodies of this country. He is calling on his counterparts in all sporting bodies to lead the way on curbing the proliferation of sports betting advertising among those bodies. It is targeting the bodies' membership. It might be enriching some sports bodies, but it is ruining the lives of their members and future generations because the firms know that that is where their target market is.

I welcome the legislation that the Minister of State will be introducing, but we must do more to reject these firms, which are turning our young people into addicts.