Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Teach. I echo what has been said by many other Senators in welcoming this Bill generally. I wish the best of luck to Ms Anne Marie Caulfield, the CEO designate of this body, to be called Údarás Rialála Cearrbhachais na hÉireann or the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland. She has an important role and function and I have no doubt that she is more than equal to the task, given her career to date.

This is an important issue that we have to get to grips with in our society. The purpose of the Bill is to help address problem gambling and, above all, assign powers to the already-appointed gambling regulator. The regulator will preside over the implementation of this legislation. By international standards, the Irish gamble in significant numbers – we are higher than the EU average – and it is vital that the State take necessary steps to help gambling addicts and preventing gambling in the first place.

Regarding the figure of one in 30 Irish adults being problem gamblers, the report from the ESRI on this matter was interesting. It appeared to be ten times the number given in 2019. According to the ESRI, this difference is down to the survey method. Given the spend on gambling that people reported in the sample of nearly 3,000 adults, the ESRI is confident in the stability or accuracy of the estimate of one in 30 adults. That estimate represents 130,000 people with problem gambling. Given that they report spending more than €1,000 per month on gambling, that comes to approximately €1.5 billion in problem gambling per year or one quarter of the total spend on gambling. As such, this is a significant industry and a significant problem within that industry.

While I have questions to ask of the Minister of State, I thoroughly support efforts to tackle gambling. It is important to say that, as the ESRI report shows, the No. 1 place gambling is happening is the national lottery and the EuroMillions, followed by scratch cards in second place, horse racing in third and greyhound racing in fourth.This legislation does not deal with the national lottery, the EuroMillions draw or scratchcards and this is regrettable. It seems this is to be regulated by Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform but many will wonder whether, in fact, the main problem bullet is being dodged inappropriately, whether the main problem is not being grasped and whether we should proceed to tackle that first. Like most people, from watching TV I can tell the House there is saturation advertising of the national lottery and it has to be addressed. It is no argument to say it is making money for the State. This approach has no integrity. Ideally we would be starting there.

I have no vested interest but like others I have heard the concerns of people involved in bingo. Those concerned by the legislation should be entitled to put the necessary questions. Certainly my experience of bingo is, to quote Senator Ward's eloquent speech, that it is a very pro-social activity. I was looking at the figures for where problem gamblers spend their money according to an ESRI report for the previous four weeks. A small enough percentage of problem gamblers, at 26.7%, spend on bingo. This is way behind the figures for lotteries at 73%, scratch cards at 65%, sports betting at 59%, horse and dog betting 50%, slot machines at 42% and gambling between friends at 27%. In raising some of the concerns that have been raised with me from the bingo perspective, all of us, including the Minister of State, know what the concern is. It is that the limit on the amount that may be placed as a bet could hit a relatively positive social activity in which gambling of some kind takes place. This should be addressed. At the very least, the limits on the participants' entrance fee booklets are giving concern. I know it will not affect charities, which will be exempt, but it could affect small local fundraising activities and I would like the Minister of State to address that. In any event, is this not classically an area that the Minister of State would leave to the gambling regulator to deal with? Are we overregulating through primary legislation at this point? That is something I would like the Minister of State to address, particularly from the perspective of the concerns expressed by bingo operators and others who operate small local fundraising activities. In the end, bingo is mainly a social amenity.

The next issue I would like to raise is the question of gambling advertisements and the times they are shown. I confess to having some sympathy with what my friend and colleague from the Labour Party Senator Wall said as to whether banning it at all hours should be considered. In any event, the other side of this question is whether people will have to take down bingo posters outside the parish hall at 4.30 a.m. and put them up after 9 p.m., when all bingo games finish before 10 p.m.? Is this again a case of overregulating through primary legislation? Would it be best to take a step back to introduce an amendment that would leave this to the regulator to decide in a way that is satisfactory to all and targets where the harm is really being done? That is what we would all want to see in the legislation.

Will the Minister of State clarify whether all electronic transactions will be banned or will it be simply credit card transactions? I can think of circumstances where it would not be inappropriate to allow people to use a debit card to make a modest payment. I would like the Minister of State to address that issue.