Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is welcome to the Chamber. I commend my Labour Party colleagues, Senators Wall, Sherlock, Hoey and Moynihan on this legislation, especially Senator Wall. It is great and a very timely initiative. Advertising is everywhere and it permeates almost all aspects of our culture. Sporting events are sponsored, the television coverage of those events is interspersed with advertisements and our commentary about the events is uploaded to social media, which is displayed alongside yet more advertising. We are spending increasing amounts of our time on digital platforms that are funded exclusively by advertising. Our attention is a valuable commodity and bookmakers with deep pockets are lining up to purchase it. The prevalence of gambling advertising in sport means that the people who love to participate in and watch sport are persistently programmed to associate the two activities.

In this environment, the Labour Party's Bill is a welcome development. While gambling might seem harmless to the average spectator who makes the occasional bet, for many it is a black hole of compulsion that destroys their finances, their relationships and their mental health. Gambling has the highest rate of suicide of all the addictions. The rise of online betting means that gambling is more accessible than ever before. One does not have to trek to the local bookies. Placing bets only takes a few taps on a smartphone now. This means that gambling advertising can have a more immediate and profound impact. When people gamble online their losses feel less tangible. It is easier to part with money when it does not come directly from your hand or wallet.

Studies have shown that problem online gamblers struggle to accurately account for just how much they have lost. The seamlessness of digital transactions works hand in hand with the distorted thinking of addiction to obscure the damage being done to problem gamblers. Recent figures show that Ireland ranks fourth among European countries on money spent on gambling per head. We know that while problem gamblers make up a small percentage of overall gamblers they contribute significantly to the industry's income; it is unknown just how much. Certain jurisdictions, such as the US state of Minnesota, have legislation mandating government agencies to produce data on this topic. Its approach could be worth replicating here. In 2020, a report from the House of Lords Select Committee on the Social and Economic Impact of the Gambling Industry found that 60% of the industry's profits came from problem or at-risk gamblers. It is an astounding figure. We know from a recent Health Research Board publication that problem gamblers are more likely to be young men, more likely to be from socially disadvantaged backgrounds and more likely to experience substance misuse and mental health issues.

Gambling can form part of a matrix of dependencies that trap people in desperate situations where they feel powerless to escape. A 2021 report from the Gambling Awareness Trust highlighted that Ireland is well behind the curve in terms of legislation regulating gambling and the advertising of gambling. This is concerning because gambling as a sector is constantly innovating. Data-driven design has been employed by online bookmakers who collect as much data as possible about their users and use this to make their products as addictive and, therefore, as lucrative as possible. Legislation needs to reflect that online gambling is a fundamentally more dangerous product than conventional gambling and requires more vigorous regulation that is informed by the experiences of recovered gambling addicts and the many clinicians and academics working in this area.

The data about the impact of the pandemic on gambling relayed in the Gambling Awareness Trust report is mixed. While lockdowns and other restrictions saw many betting shops closed for long periods, it did not impact on the revenue of the industry's big players. This is because the pandemic drove more gamblers online. Working from home, the limitations on people's social lives and inter-familial strains all contributed to some online gamblers spending more time and money on these platforms. What is most worrying is that young people are more likely to have increased their gambling during the pandemic, with 17.7% of 18- to 24-year-olds and 13% of 25- to 29-year-olds reporting having done so. We know that many young people's sense of risk is duller than that of adults, which makes them more likely to engage in risky behaviour and renders them particularly vulnerable to advertising for gambling.

While this may lie outside the parameters of the Bill being discussed, I will highlight an issue that is conspicuously absent from policy debates around gambling advertising and addiction. The rise of retail investing apps has given anyone with a smartphone and a bank account access to the stock market. There is much hype about the democratisation of finance but I worry that it is just the more acceptable face of online gambling. Anyone with a Revolut account can make incredibly risky investments in highly volatile speculative assets, such as cryptocurrencies. This new model of investing has been promoted through a barrage of slick advertising sometimes featuring A-list Hollywood stars. This advertising is inescapable online, especially for users in demographics targeted by these companies, such as young people and particularly young men. The moment-to-moment volatility of these investments and their constant accessibility recreates all the most habit-forming, destructive aspects of online gambling. However, the association these companies have with technological advancement and finance gives the practice a sense of prestige that is usually not afforded to conventional gambling. This can entice novice investors with limited financial literacy who do not fully understand the risks they are taking. The convergence of the spheres of online gambling and investment deserves closer scrutiny.

I again thank Senator Wall and all his Labour Party colleagues for bringing forward this very important legislation. I am delighted to hear that the Government is supporting it. I believe that action on this issue is long overdue. Technological development is proceeding at a rapid pace in this area and legislators and regulators must endeavour to keep up.