James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 523, 524 and 525 together.

The Programme for Government includes a clear commitment to reform gambling legislation, with a focus on public safety and well-being. The Gambling Regulation Bill 2022 will cover gambling online and in person. The Bill was published and completed Second Stage in the Dáil in early December 2022. Committee Stage is taking place today 11 July 2023.

Following Committee Stage, I will review the Bill to ensure that its provisions are proportionate and fair to all parties affected by it, and in that context. The Bill proposes a prohibition on the provision of cash withdrawal facilities by the licensees at their premises. This prohibition is not intended to be at the discretion of the Regulator. However, this provision is under review and I have asked my officials to consider the matters raised in the Deputy’s questions and I may bring amendments concerning those matters at Report Stage if necessary. In developing the Bill, both I and my officials have kept relevant developments in other jurisdictions under review.

The Bill sets out the framework and legislative basis for the establishment of a new, independent statutory body – Údarás Rialála Cearrbhachais na hÉireann, the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland – and for a robust regulatory and licensing regime to regulate gambling in-person and online, and for the regulation of gambling advertising, websites and apps.

A key focus of the Bill is to protect children and vulnerable people from the harms associated with gambling. The Bill includes restrictions on gambling advertising and on sponsorship by gambling service providers.

The Deputy will be aware that section 141 of the Bill provides for a watershed prohibiting the broadcast of gambling advertising on television, radio and on audio-visual media services between the hours of 5:30am and 9:00pm, with a focus on protecting children from the widespread proliferation of gambling advertising across these forms of media.

In addition to the watershed provisions, the Bill provides for a wide-ranging power to allow the Authority to prescribe the times, place and events where gambling advertising can be broadcast, displayed or published, and allows the Authority to specify the frequency which advertising can be broadcast, the duration of advertisements, and the volume / amount of advertisements that can be shown. This power will allow the Authority to address the issue of gambling advertising on social media, online and on traditional media such as on television, radio, in publications and outdoor advertising such as billboards, etc.

The Bill also prohibits advertising portraying gambling as attractive to children and any advertising that promotes excessive or compulsive gambling or seeks to misrepresent any perceived social or financial benefits of gambling. Furthermore, gambling advertising must be clearly identifiable and the Bill sets out what information must be included in advertisements. Furthermore, the Bill prohibits persons from advertising, or causing another person to advertise, a relevant gambling activity on an on-demand audio-visual media service or by any other means of electronic communication (including on a video-sharing platform, a social media website, by telephone, text message or email) to another person, unless that person has consented to such advertising.

The Bill also includes a number of safeguards to protect those who participate in gambling. The Bill prohibits the offer or extension of credit (of any kind) or loans or similar facilities to players of licensed services or activities. This means that where a player has exceeded the amount they have deposited they will not be able to avail of any credit options, credit note, tokens, loans, etc., and will have to pay via a permitted payment method to continue playing.

The Bill also includes a number of further measures to protect people participating in gambling such as:

• obligations on licensees to train staff to be able to identify excessive and compulsive gambling behaviour according to standards set by the Authority;
• obligations on licensees to provide proper and transparent information to customers when opening an account and while participating in gambling activities;
• information to be provided to people gambling online, while they are playing, to inform them of their winnings and losses;
• obligations to refund money where a person closes their account with a licensee; and
• obliging licensees to provide facilities to allow people to set limits on the amount of money that may be lodged to their account in a particular timeframe;

In addition, the Bill provides that the Authority may make regulations to set limits on the amounts of money that may be lodged when gambling online and also limits on the number of lodgements a person may make with licensees within in a particular timeframe.