James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 283 and 284 together.

The Programme for Government includes a clear commitment to reform gambling legislation, with a focus on public safety and well-being from both an online and in-person perspective.

The Gambling Regulation Bill 2022 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.

The Government approved publication of the General Scheme of the Bill in October 2021. In May 2022, the Committee published its report of its pre-legislative scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Bill. The Bill was approved for publication in November 2022, completed Second Stage in Dáil Éireann in December 2022 and Committee Stage in Dáil Éireann on 11 July 2023.

At its core, this legislation is a public health measure aimed at protecting our citizens from gambling harm, including younger people and those more vulnerable in our communities. My officials and I have engaged in extensive consultation with representatives from the industry, the charity sector, related sectors and as well as with professionals working in the area of problem gambling, persons adversely affected by the consequences of gambling and those with lived experience of problem gambling.

Schedule 3 of the Gambling Regulation Bill 2022 provides for the maximum relevant payments and the maximum winnings for gambling activities - the details of which are in the table below. These amounts are based on the limits introduced in 2019 to the Gaming and Lotteries Acts 1956. These limits may be varied by the Authority with the consent of the Minister as provided in section 82(2) of the Bill.

It is important to note that licence and permit holders under the 1956 Act are already subject to regulation where they provide gaming activities or operate and promote lotteries as per the provisions of that Act. The maximum relevant payment and winnings limits in the Bill are not new and are a direct continuation of the measures, albeit modernised, already provided for in the 1956 Act for both licence and permit holders for charitable / philanthropic causes and non-charitable / philanthropic purposes.

Existing licence and permit holders should have no issue with compliance with the limits provided for in the Bill as they will already be familiar with the same current limits provided for in the 1956 Act, as amended.

As the Deputy will appreciate, as per proper procedure, I sought the views of my ministerial colleagues, including the Minster for Enterprise, Trade and Employment who provided the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s observations on the Bill, prior to its publication.