Shane Cassells (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am glad the Minister of State is here today for this discussion on gambling regulations. I am hopeful that he will act swiftly to take on the issues in this regard. It is a sector that, unfortunately, has free rein at this time. Without stringent protocols in place, it is wrecking the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, young and old, male and female, in this country.

The industry will be interested in what the Minister of State says here today. He should not kid himself that the companies involved will not parse every single utterance he makes. The reason for this is that the betting industry in this country is worth €10 billion a year. It is worth its while to listen to what the Minister of State is saying in this House. I have seen lobbyists for the industry in the coffee dock and elsewhere around this place for years. They have had free rein. We should think about that figure of €10 billion for a minute. We spend €9 billion on education, €3.5 billion on transport and €2 on agriculture, but nearly €10 billion is spent on gambling in this country.A very sad statistic is that the money being spent in casinos, at bingo and in gambling machines exceeds the amount bet on horse racing. It is easy to recognise when someone has a bad drink problem because he or she may be seen stumbling around the streets but a gambling addiction can be hidden, unfortunately. In March of this year, Barry Grant who runs the website problemgambling.iereported a 46% increase in gambling addiction problems during this pandemic. There is a human cost to gambling. There are kids who go hungry in this country because their fathers, and it is primarily fathers, gamble their income away leaving themselves and their dependants destitute and, in turn, that can lead to even further problems within the home. What the hell do the gambling companies think about that? They just stick up a logo and text number in small print that cautions people to gamble responsibly.

The people at the head of these companies are the best paid executives on the face of the earth. We have debated what Secretaries General are paid. The head of a betting firm would wipe their rear end with what a Secretary General is paid. The head of the betting company Bet365, Ms Denise Coates, set a new record last year for the best paid executive by getting €493.5 million a year, which made her one of the highest earning corporate figures in the world.

A few weeks ago, I made the point that RTÉ had an extensive discussion on its popular "Sunday Sport" radio show with Oisín McConville, who is a high-profile sports star and who has toured Ireland to explain how gambling ruined his life. He tries to make sure that people do not fall into that same hole. At the end of the debate, the coverage went to the Curragh where the opening day of the flat races was happening, and straight after the race there was a message on the radio show stating that today's race meeting on RTÉ was brought to us courtesy of Boyle Sports. That is like going to a place to dry oneself out yet the place is sponsored by Guinness. The gambling organisations are laughing all the way to the bank. They would let RTÉ talk about problem gambling all day because the little jingle advertising the betting company was played all day long. They think they are untouchable because, quite frankly, at this moment in time they are. I know that the Minister of State has taken on this project of providing gambling regulation with real gusto. More importantly, he has the steely toughness to see this through to the end. They will go after him because, mark my words, the lobbying factor involved in the gambling world is massive.

The Minister of State mentioned in his speech the technological advancements in the betting area. Of course, Covid has been a godsend to these guys as it has driven them online. They do not want the bookie shops because it is a hindrance to them to have to pay rates and staff costs. One can set up an online account without any age ID verification. If one wants to get one's money out of elsewhere one needs to show a passport but one can gamble away to one's heart content.

The advancement of online gambling companies means that they can target people by sending tailor-made ads to their mobile devices so get people hooked and they keep them hooked. Gone are the days of a €5 coupon on the front of newspapers because now an online voucher can be sent to one's phone.

I am someone who enjoys racing and I am a former sports journalists but the regulation does not come down hard on people who want to have a punt and enjoy a day at the races or Friday night in Dundalk. The companies are not interested in those punters. What do they want? They want people hooked on cartoon races. On top of that, the figures from Revenue are quite frightening. As many as 11,000 gaming machine licences were issued last year and the year before. It is crucial, therefore, that when we come to regulation that there is a wide encompassing view taken of this. We have 1950s legislation regulating an industry that operates with the latest algorithm technology available.

Finally, as with any other legislation that comes before the House, the laws can only go so far in tackling any social issue. There is a broad responsibility on everyone in this regard and the sports stars who charge very large appearance fees to perform on television and in online advertisements for these companies need to take a long, hard look at themselves because they are complicit, as are our premier sports clubs in this country. Shamrock Rovers is sponsored by 888, which is one of the largest sports gambling companies in the world. There is a social duty of care here. These are not harmless companies and everyone has their part to play. I urge the Minister of State to maintain his steely toughness and make sure to tackle gambling.