Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

That reference was proper.

In conclusion, the Government has promised legislation on this issue and Senator Wall has welcomed that. He is right to do so but we need to be careful as to how the vested interests might act in the interim. The figure from 2019 is that some €90 million is being raised in gambling advertising revenue which is double what came in the year before. As we know, the betting tax is used to fund the horse racing industry and this industry is very important. We only had to see, however, the saturation of gambling advertising during the recent European soccer championships, with the use of drumbeats with messages of solidarity and crowd happiness to see how seductive and clever this whole industry is at manipulating people’s emotions and feelings. We will need to watch out for the influence that they will seek to play in advance of this promised Government legislation. We will have to watch it like hawks to ensure that it is effective and curbs things like the advertising of sports events by gambling organisations because we have a ballooning problem in this country and we must act in the public interest and combat it.