James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Regarding amendment No. 31 in the name of Senators Ruane and Higgins, I certainly cannot disagree with almost all of the Senator's concerns. However, we are satisfied that the reference to "the internet" in paragraph (a) of the definition of "remote means" covers gaming devices and consoles as they inherently need access to the Internet to access online services such as apps and in-game services. We believe, are satisfied and advised that our definition does, in fact, cover gambling on gaming devices and consoles.

The Sinn Féin amendment was discussed in the Dáil. We were advised by the OPC that our definition works in the context of our Bill and that simply adopting the UK definition would not be suitable. We have consulted the United Kingdom's gambling authority when drafting the legislation and were advised not to follow the UK's 2005 Act wholesale.

Senator Ward raised the situation regarding bingo. One of the reasons the amendment for bingo was introduced is that, in the current definition, they would have been inadvertently caught because of the number of small little games that people often play. I certainly hear Senator Ward's concerns and will give further consideration as to whether a particular definition for the game of bingo is needed for clarification purposes.