Shane Cassells (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome yesterday's decision by Andrew Rhodes, chief executive of the UK Gambling Commission. William Hill was hit with a record fine of £19.2 million or €22 million for breaches in the operation of its business, its failure to protect consumers and its weak anti-money laundering controls. That will soften William Hill's cough, for all of the big TV advertising in recent weeks that has tried to promote its products as consumer friendly. That goes to the heart of why the Bill that is before these Houses needs to be moved quickly. I welcome the statement made yesterday by the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, who has introduced the Bill. I wish to see it progress swiftly. It is only now on Second Stage in the Dáil. We need an office equivalent to the UK Gambling Commission in place to regulate what is an unregulated market in this country and which has the power to hit those who flagrantly breach the law with fines, which are the only things the industry will understand.

Last week on RTÉ, I heard Johnny McGurk, all-Ireland medal winner with Derry, speak about how gambling totally destroyed his life. He said there were no protections in place for him or many others like him, such as Oisín McConville and many ordinary people. All we get from the gambling companies is a mere reference to gambling with care. Those companies did not have too much concern for the people affected. In the case of William Hill, one man was allowed to spend £23,000 in 20 minutes without any checks. Another spent £54,000 over four weeks. There are simply no checks and balances in place with respect to that industry. We need to ensure that when the Bill goes through these Houses, we have a similar office with corresponding powers that will be able to take these guys on.