James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to present the Gambling Regulation Bill to the House. This is an important and necessary Bill to address and regulate gambling in Ireland.I know the Bill has significant support and I look forward to Senators' contributions.

The Internet has made gambling easier to access than was ever thought possible. Everyone, including children, has relatively easy access to gambling sites on phones. Therefore, it is vital to have a robust regulatory environment in which people can enjoy themselves, operators are properly regulated and our children and those vulnerable to problem gambling are protected.

The Bill’s primary objective is to ensure there is a robust and modern regulatory and licensing framework for gambling. It provides for the establishment and statutory functions of a body, to be called “Údarás Rialála Cearrbhachais na hÉireann” or “the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland”. The Bill balances the freedom to gamble while ensuring the protection of children and prevention of harm to those vulnerable to problem gambling. The Bill aims to: ensure that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way so that licensees may operate with certainty; address problem gambling to protect children and regulate gambling advertising; and prevent gambling from being a source of support to crime.

I am conscious that many will have strong views about gambling either way, but Senators will appreciate that legislation must balance all interests. In 2017, it was estimated that the size of the gambling sector was worth approximately €6 billion annually. There is little doubt but that this figure has increased exponentially in the seven years since. Therefore, the industry has a significant impact on our economy and employment. Furthermore, gambling is an important fundraising activity for many charitable and philanthropic organisations. Many people gamble for fun and, for most, it is nothing more than that. However, gambling comes with a risk that exists on a spectrum. Sadly, many who started out gambling for fun have developed problem gambling. The ESRI’s 2023 report on problem gambling highlighted that 3% of our population had an issue with problem gambling, ten times more than previously thought. This underscores the need to meaningfully address problem gambling and its harms and reinforces the need for proper regulation. Therefore, it is vital to establish an appropriately empowered regulator that can operate and respond with speed and agility when considering the scale, complexity and constantly evolving nature of the gambling sector. This Bill provides safeguards to ensure that a balance is struck between appropriately regulating licensees while protecting those vulnerable to problem gambling. Furthermore, preventing gambling as a means of funding criminality must be paramount.

I will now outline the Bill’s main provisions. Part 1 contains standard legislative provisions common to all legislation. Part 2 provides for the establishment, statutory functions and funding of the authority. It will be operationally independent but subject to appropriate oversight. There will be seven members of the authority, including its chairperson, and the Bill provides for the role of a chief executive responsible for the authority’s day-to-day management.

The Bill provides for the establishment and operation of a national gambling exclusion register to allow persons to exclude from gambling online. Where a person registers with the authority, it shall be an offence for a licensee to allow that person to gamble, accept payment from that person for gambling or communicate with that person in a way that encourages or promotes gambling.

Part 2 also provides for the establishment of a social impact fund, financed by mandatory contributions calculated annually on commercial licensees’ turnovers. The fund will finance research and related initiatives to address compulsive and excessive gambling, support awareness raising and educational measures, and support problem gambling treatment activities.

Part 3 sets out the relevant provisions relating to the operation of the authority and the criteria for appointment to the authority, the appeals panel and the adjudication board. Part 4 provides for a number of prohibitions and related offences, for example, providing unlicensed activities. The authority will be empowered to apply for court orders to block Internet access to unlicensed operators and activities and to block advertising by and financial payments to unlicensed providers.

Part 5 provides for a modern framework of licensing gambling, replacing the outdated schemes currently in place. The Bill provides for new betting licences to replace existing bookmaker and totalisator licences and new gaming and lottery licences to replace the respective systems of permits and licences. The Bill provides for the comprehensive licensing and regulation of gaming machines. Those who sell or supply gambling products or related services must also be licensed. The Bill provides for a new licence to permit gaming, lotteries and pool betting for fundraising for charitable or philanthropic purposes, such as local sports clubs and good causes, as well as a new licence for one-off lotteries for prizes up to €360,000 for commercial, charitable or philanthropic purposes.The Bill also provides for a maximum stake and prize limits broadly in line with those introduced in 2020. These may be varied by the authority. Part 5 also provides exemptions from holding licences for lotteries for charitable and philanthropic purposes where the total winnings do not exceed €2,000, or for marketing purposes where the total winnings do not exceed €5,000.

To protect children when considering an application for a licence and the suitability of an applicant's premises, the authority must consider the proximity of the premises to schools and whether gambling is offered locally. The authority must consult with the relevant local authorities and its assessment of premises will not supersede the role of local authorities in determining planning permission.

Part 6 provides critical safeguards concerning the protection of children, gambling advertising, targeted inducements and the regulation of payment methods. The Bill prohibits employing children in gambling activities, allowing a child to gamble and allowing children on premises, with penalties of up to five years for those in breach. The Bill prohibits gambling advertising on on-demand services, television and radio between 5.30 p.m. and 9.30 p.m. This provision implements the unanimous recommendation of the joint committee in its pre-legislative scrutiny report on on-demand services, except where a person has an account with those services and in compliance with the watershed; on social media or video sharing services, except where a person has an account on the service and has subscribed to the licensee's account under that service; and via other forms of electronic communication, such as telephone, text messages or email, unless the recipient consented to receiving such advertising and an acceptable opt-out mechanism is provided. I would also like Senators to note that I intend to bring amendments to exempt charitable and philanthropic licensees, which will include sporting organisations, from these advertising restrictions, while strengthening the Bill to ensure that such exempt licences cannot be abused for personal gain or to bypass the advertising restrictions in the Bill. Amendments will also be brought to ensure these organisations can sell their tickets in shops, door-to-door and on the streets.

The authority may also make supplementary regulations to address gambling advertising on a specific medium, as previously mentioned, and on websites, apps, in print or at specific places or events. Importantly, this part prohibits the use of credit cards to pay for gambling and prohibits the offer of targeted individualised inducements to encourage a person to gamble. It also addresses sponsorship and the supply of branded clothing and merchandise of commercial licensees.

Part 7 of the Bill provides for how the authority addresses complaints and the actions it may take to address alleged contraventions of an obligation by a licensee.

Part 8 of the Bill provides for the authority's statutory powers of compliance and enforcement. The Bill seeks to encourage compliance. Where penalties are appropriate the authority will have robust powers in respect of the imposition of a wide array of sanctions following investigation by its officers. The outcome of an investigation may be referred to an independent adjudication officer for consideration. Where an officer decides the relevant obligation has been contravened one or more administrative sanctions may be imposed, including a financial penalty, the suspension or revocation of a gambling licence or the imposition of a condition on a gambling licence. Financial penalties shall not exceed €20 million or, if greater, 10% of the turnover of the licensee in the financial year. The authority may also apply to the courts for emergency orders where it considers there is an urgent need to protect the public, including protecting any funds they have with the licensee.

Part 9 provides fora range of appeals that may be made by licensees in respect of the authority's decisions.

This is detailed legislation that covers many complex issues in a flexible, modern and principled manner. It has the potential to bring about considerable benefit and clarity for operators and consumers, protections for children and the wider public, and help for those afflicted by the harms caused by excessive and problem gambling. It is long needed. It will save lives and minimise the social and economic damage that gambling causes. There is more work to be done in finalising the legislation but the entire purpose of the various Stages of a Bill is to scrutinise it and amend as necessary. I look forward to engaging with Senators in this respect as the Bill progresses. I commend the Bill to the House.