Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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150. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when the interdepartmental working group on gambling report will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40151/18]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that the Government, on 10 January 2018, approved a number of proposals from myself to update and modernise the earlier proposals set out in the 2013 General Scheme of the Gambling Control Bill. A significant amount of work has been undertaken within Government to develop revised proposals which better reflect the required extent of the State’s engagement with the modern Irish gambling environment which is operating with both domestic and international aspects.

In particular, the Government approved a proposal to establish an independent regulatory authority for the gambling industry in Ireland. This decision reflected the view that such a body would be best placed to conduct the complex range of licensing, regulating, monitoring, inspecting and enforcement tasks, etc., of the growing gambling industry in all of its facets. The development of an independent regulatory approach would also mirror the approach now taken in most EU Member States and beyond.

I chaired the Interdepartmental Working Group on Gambling, comprising all stakeholder Departments and the Office of the Attorney General that met on 5 occasions between February and June of this year to review all provisions of the 2013 General Scheme of the Gambling Control Bill and to consider other relevant matters. The Group is currently preparing its Report, which it intends to submit to Government as soon as possible.