Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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351. To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the collapse of a company (details supplied); and the actions his Department plans to take to support those affected. [50391/21]

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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353. To ask the Minister for Finance the considerations given by his Department in granting a company (details supplied) a remote gambling licence. [50393/21]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 351 and 353 together.

The regulation of gambling in Ireland is primarily the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Justice and is provided for under the Betting Act 1931.

Under that Act, any business which involves entering into bets with persons in Ireland by remote means must hold a Remote Bookmaker’s Licence.  Revenue issues Remote Bookmakers’ Licences in accordance with provisions of the Act and collects Betting Duty from the operators concerned. Revenue’s role in this area is confined to that of a tax administration i.e. the collection of the relevant taxes and duties and the issue of the relevant excise licences on foot of:

- payment of the relevant excise licence fee,

- confirmation of tax clearance status by the applicant for a licence,

- confirmation that the applicant for a licence has a Certificate of Personal Fitness as provided for in section 5 of the Betting Act 1931.

A Certificate of Personal Fitness is a certificate indicating that an individual, or the relevant officers of a body corporate, is a fit and proper person to hold a Remote Bookmaker’s Licence.  For applicants that reside in the State, the Certificate of Personal Fitness is issued by the superintendent of the Garda Siochána located where the applicant ordinarily resides.  For applicants that reside outside of the state, the Certificate of Personal Fitness is issued by the Minister for Justice and queries in that regard should be addressed to my colleague.

The Minister for Justice may revoke a Certificate of Personal Fitness for stated reasons which are outlined in sections 5(C) and 6 of the Betting Act 1931. The Minister may also apply to the District Court for the revocation of a Remote Bookmakers Licence. In such instances Revenue will be informed of the revocation and will remove the relevant entry from the register.  It is also open to a Court under section 17 of the Betting Act 1931 to direct that an operator be removed from the Register of Remote Bookmakers in cases of conviction for an offence under that Act.

The Deputy is asking about a specific entity which, it is understood, has had its licence from the UK Gambling Commission suspended and is currently in administration in relation to its trading activities in that jurisdiction. I am advised by Revenue that the entity referenced by the Deputy was issued a licence in 2018 but is currently not licensed to provide remote gambling services in the State.

It will be for the administrators to resolve issues relating to the collapsed firm, including the potential for return of funds to affected consumers.

Finally, on a broader note, the Deputy may be interested to know that the Department of Justice is currently leading work on legislative proposals to comprehensively reform the regulation of gambling activities in Ireland and to provide for an independent Gambling Regulator.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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352. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of applications for a gambling licence, remote or in person; and the number that were successful and refused respectively, in each of the years 2015 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form. [50392/21]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by Revenue that it issues Remote Bookmaker Licences, Remote Betting Intermediary Licences and Bookmaker Licences on receipt of a Certificate of Personal Fitness, tax clearance certification and the relevant Excise licence fee from the applicant. Revenue also issues Gaming Licenses on receipt of a District Court Certificate, tax clearance certification and the relevant Excise license fee from the applicant. Where this information is not provided it is not possible for Revenue to issue a license.

The Certificate of Personal Fitness is a requirement under section 5 of the Betting Act 1931 and is administered by the Department of Justice who has responsibility for the regulation of gambling in Ireland. A Certificate of Personal Fitness is provided directly by that Department to entities that reside outside the State or by the Garda Siochana where the entity ordinarily resides in the State.

The numbers of licences issued by Revenue in each of the years 2015 to 2020 and to date in 2021 for each (license) category are set out in the table below. Revenue does not maintain statistics on ‘refusals’ as licenses are only issued where all the relevant documentation is received.