Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senators Ward and Carrigy, who are here, and Senator Currie for raising this matter and for their concern about the national lottery. I have a few words to say on behalf of the Government about this Bill. The funding the national lottery raises is very important to community groups, clubs and organisations throughout Ireland. I very much appreciate the work of the Senators in raising important matters in this regard. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. While the Minister, Deputy McGrath, cannot join us today, he has previously noted his concerns about lottery betting and the potential impact it may have on the national lottery and the generation of funding for good causes projects.

Before considering the detail of the Bill, I wish to speak for a moment about the good causes funding raised by lottery sales and its importance to Ireland. Senators will be aware that it is only a few weeks since the Minister spoke about the issue of good causes funding. While noting the moneys raised via lottery sales in 2021, the Minister welcomed the transfer of €289 million from the national lottery fund to the Exchequer in 2021. The transfer represents a significant 14% increase compared with 2020 and is a record and unprecedented figure under the licence commenced by Premier Lotteries Ireland, PLI, in 2014 as well as a commendable achievement in light of the challenging trading environment in 2021. The Minister also noted that €6 billion has been raised for good causes since the national lottery commenced operations in 1987. I know that the Minister also in the past fortnight attended the launch of the national lottery Good Causes Awards. The awards honour the inspiring work and achievements of thousands of projects, clubs and individuals all over Ireland. The Minister noted at that ceremony that the awards provide the perfect opportunity to recognise and highlight the amazing work carried out by groups all over the country. Too often the efforts of our local clubs and voluntary groups may go unnoticed and we may not be aware of the organisations working tirelessly to the benefit of our communities.My colleagues, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin, and the Minister of State in her Department, Deputy Chambers, recently announced a record-breaking allocation of €150 million for the sports capital programme. Funding raised by national lottery sales has for many years contributed to the development of sports facilities in our communities and regions, and it is truly inspiring to see such facilities continuing to develop, with all the consequent positive impacts for citizens. The Revised Estimates document published by the Department sets out where good-causes funding will be allocated in 2022. Appendix 1 to the document notes the funding will be distributed over five separate Departments: the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media; the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage; the Department of Health; the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth; and the Department of Rural and Community Development. The total funding allocated in these areas is more than €450 million. It is evident, therefore, that the funding raised from lottery sales is supplemented by Exchequer funding.

I emphasise my support and that of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform for the tremendous work facilitated through national lottery sales and our desire to sustain this. In that context, the Minister has been actively considering measures, including the Bill proposed today, that might serve to sustain lottery sales into the future. Three such lines of action are being considered by him, which I will address in sequence. The first, of course, is the proposed legislation before us. I understand the aim of the Bill is to prohibit licensed bookmakers from taking bets that use lottery products. The Minister has some concerns regarding the impact of the proposed Bill. One such concern was highlighted on Second Stage regarding the replacement section, section 46.1. The proposed version of section 46(1) applies to betting offers rather than lottery games, leaving lottery providers apparently free to make use of the national lottery and its name. However, the broader fundamental concerns relate to the compatibility of the proposed legislation with wider European law. The issues include proportionality in that justifying a complete ban on a previously legitimate business activity that has been in place for some 30 years is particularly challenging. Second, there is the matter of restricting the freedom to provide certain gambling services pursuant to Articles 49 and 56 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Third, such restrictions would be incompatible with EU law unless there were overriding reasons that justified them as a non-discriminatory and proportionate means of achieving legitimate objectives in the public interest. We have had discussions with the Attorney General on those points.

I am very open to hearing the views of Senators on how these legal issues might be addressed. It would be desirable to have clarity on them before any legislation is enacted. We would all agree that legislation that leads to lengthy legal challenges or disputes would not be in anyone's interest, least of all that of the lottery, which might suffer associated reputational damage.

A secondary issue that also relates to the proposals is the capacity of bookmakers to adjust their lottery offerings to make use of alternative international lotteries. I do not know how likely that is, the take-up of such games and how many players might not opt for such games and instead revert to or commence playing national lottery games. There may be a case for more information in this regard. I am referring to the idea that people would switch to betting on the EuroMillions, the UK lottery or another lottery. In that context and given the concerns over legal actions to sustain lottery sales and good-causes funding, the Minister has been active in considering other options. One such option, which is perhaps the most sustainable in the long term, is to strengthen further the link in the public mind between purchasing lottery tickets and contributing to good causes. I have noted that the Revised Estimates set out the allocation of funding from lottery sales, but I am aware that the Minister is interested in examining options from this process to make them more transparent and robust, and, furthermore, to make more visible the impact of lottery funding in communities throughout the country.

The Minister is also interested in seeing how other jurisdictions manage this process. This is critical. We know that because of the contribution of lottery sales to good causes, playing lottery games will never offer the returns that might be available in more traditional forms of gambling. What lottery games can offer is the added benefit of knowing not only that the games themselves can be enjoyed but also that communities throughout the country can benefit from the good-causes funding raised. As such, it is essential that there be improved systems for deciding how the funding should be allocated and for making its impact visible locally and nationally. I note in this regard that the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, has appointed consultants to review current arrangements in respect of good-causes funding. Work has already commenced in respect of the current practices in the allocation of funding for good causes, and work has also commenced on systems and best practice in other jurisdictions and lessons learned.

The review will also set out the principles that will underpin any future framework to inform funding allocation along with the options for new approaches to the allocation of funds arising from the lottery to good causes. The report will also have regard to any issues that might arise in any transition to a new process and how these issues can best be managed. The review is scheduled to conclude in the second quarter of 2022.

Work is under way in the Department of Justice to introduce a significant suite of reforms concerning the models for licensing and regulating gambling in Ireland. It will be important to monitor the development of that legislation and the role of the proposed gambling regulatory authority. We discussed on Second Stage certain inconsistencies in promotional strategies that may be used by bookmakers and their activities that are not permitted under the national lottery licence. The gambling authority may have a role in this regard and, more generally, in regulating the activities of bookmakers. I believe the Department of Justice is introducing its gambling legislation for pre-legislative scrutiny in March. That is only weeks away.