James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Amendments Nos. 128 to 135, inclusive, restructure and clarify some of the language and terminology used in section 83. In particular, amendment No. 135 reframes and moves the provisions of section 131 into section 83 on betting licences and for clarity and for visibility to continue to allow the authority to prescribe what activities and events may not be the subject of betting. A practical example of this would be prohibiting bets on an incident at a sporting event that could lead to the commission of a criminal offence that is deliberately causing harm to an animal during a sporting event.

Amendments Nos. 136 to 142, inclusive, are technical amendments connected to the insertion of the new section 111 in the Bill. These amendments will allow licensees to add additional premises to their licence rather than a separate licence for each individual premises.Amendments Nos. 136 to 142, inclusive, are technical amendments connected to the new section 111 in the Bill. These amendments will allow licensees to add additional premises. Amendment No. 146 prohibits commercial gambling operators and suppliers from seeking to use lotteries that can be promoted without a licence to circumvent the advertising restrictions in the Bill. Amendment No. 147 is a drafting amendment recommended by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to correct the wording in section 90(3)(a).

I thank the Senators for their amendments Nos. 148 and 149 but I cannot accept them. The Senators’ amendments would allow any broadcaster to offer and advertise any gambling activities and lotteries as long as they are licensed under the Broadcasting Act 2009. These amendments would effectively allow any licensed broadcaster to bypass any oversight and regulation by the authority by virtue of holding a licence under the 2009 Act. Furthermore, they would give any such broadcastercarte blancheand allow it to ignore the provisions of this Bill in operating and promoting its own activities while those who are licensees under this Bill are required to pay their fees and charges so as to operate in a properly regulated environment and to contribute to the social impact fund. The amendments would also allow commercial broadcasters to operate without restraint while holding charities and philanthropic bodies to a higher level of regulation and restriction. These amendments are disproportionate and seeks to benefit only a select few. To give such an exemption would fundamentally undermine the core purpose and protections within the Bill and would most likely not withstand scrutiny if challenged. I therefore cannot accept these amendments. It would not be right or fair to do so.