James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 234 deletes section 125(g). This paragraph is no longer needed in the Bill due to the changes to the application process and assessment of premise provisions for a charitable or philanthropic licence.

Amendment No. 235 amends section 126 to provide that where an applicant provides information to the authority pursuant to section 95 or seeks to add additional premises to their licence under the new section 111, the licensee is obliged to notify the authority of any changes specified under subsection 2 to any of the premises listed in the licence. Section 126 provides that a licensee of a remote gambling licence must notify the authority of any significant changes to its IT systems. Amendment No. 236 removes this requirement for charitable or philanthropic licences.

Amendment No. 237 replaces the existing section 128 and provides that a business to consumer licence is granted subject to the licensee maintaining segregated customer accounts and complying with any additional conditions prescribed in respect of children on the premises, any conditions relating to ATMs and the requirement to notify the authority of any changes to a premises and that their premises remains suitable to provide gambling activities from.

Amendment No. 238 provides that our segregated customer accounts provisions apply to both account holders who gamble online with the licensee and in-person participants.

With regard to amendment No. 239 in the names of Senators Ruane and Higgins, unfortunately I cannot accept the amendment. The purpose of section 130, relating to segregated customer accounts, is to ensure that participants' accounts are held separately from the rest of the licensee's operating accounts. Therefore, deposit limits do not apply in the case.

Amendment No. 240 updates section 132 to provide that all participants in a game provided pursuant to a gaming licence under section 84 or a charitable or philanthropic licence must have an equal chance at being successful at the gambling activity. This amendment will ensure that no participant, including the licensee, will have an unfair advantage over other participants.

I can see from the wording of amendment No. 241 that Senators Wall, Hoey, Moynihan and Sherlock are seeking to bring clarity to the role of the licensee when the licensee participates in a game with other people playing. This wording reflects the principles underpinning section 9A(6)(a) of the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956 as amended. In preparing section 132, my officials and the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel carefully considered the provisions and the intention of the 1956 Act, in that all participants in gaming for the purpose of gambling would have equal chances when playing against one other. The Senators will have seen from the list of amendments that I am bringing my own amendment to section 132 which does the same as theirs to ensure that licensees cannot have an unfair advantage over the other participants in the game. We are all on the same page and seek to reflect the intention of the relevant section of the 1956 Act. Given that amendment No. 240, brought forward by the Government, amends the section for the same purpose, I cannot accept amendment No. 241, although I do accept the spirit and the intention. I hope they will accept my reasoning and withdraw it.

Amendment No. 242 provides that it shall be a condition of a one-off lottery licence that the lottery be held on the day specified when applying for the licence.

Amendment No. 243 inserts a new section into the Bill that provides an obligation on licensees not to engage, permit or employ a child to act on a licensee’s behalf except where authorised by the authority in the case of a charitable or philanthropic licensee. Any licensee that breaches this obligation may face significant administrative sanctions, including a financial penalty, a suspension or a revocation of a gambling licence or the imposition of a condition, including restrictions on a gambling licence. Furthermore, licensees may also be subject to the provisions of the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996, as amended by this Bill, if they employ a child in the context of the provision of a gambling activity.