Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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1581.To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she would consider regulation around the prevalence of online advertising for gambling; and if she has engaged with social media and search engine companies in relation to the need to have an opt-out system for said advertisements for those in recovery from gambling addiction, separate to current systems which only allow an opt-out under child-safe browsing. [32825/24]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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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 Bill completed Second Stage in Seanad éireann on 15 May and it is hoped that the Bill will progress through the remaining stages and be enacted in the coming months

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. In this context, the Bill provides for the establishment and operation of a National Gambling Exclusion Register to allow persons to exclude from gambling online, and for a specific offence where a licensee communicates with a person on the Register in a manner that encourages or promotes gambling.

Both my officials and I have engaged in extensive consultation with representatives from the industry, the charity sector and related sectors 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. This also included engagement with representatives of the IT sector and with social media providers.

The Deputy will be interested to note that section 140 of the Bill, as passed by Dáil éireann, prohibits gambling advertising by a licensee on social media or video sharing services except where a person has an account to use the service, has subscribed to that licensee’s account on that service, and in compliance with any applicable regulations made by the Authority.

The Bill also provides for a wide-ranging power to allow the Authority to prescribe the times, places 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 further address the issue of gambling advertising on social media, online and on traditional media such as on television, radio, websites, apps, in print, and outdoor advertising such as billboards, etc.