The Gambling Control Bill Urgently Needs to be Enacted

In 2013, the Heads of the Gambling Control Bill were published.  The purpose of the proposed legislation is to replace the out-of-date and un-fit for purpose, Betting Act 1931 and the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956.  The proposed legislation seeks to regulate gambling in order to ensure:

• fairness in the conduct of gambling,
• the protection of vulnerable persons, including children, from risks to their well being arising from gambling,
• the avoidance of circumstances where gambling could, inadvertently or otherwise, facilitate or enable criminal or illegal activity,
• consumer choice and protection 

Alan Shatter, then Minister for Justice stated that "Under the new law, anyone offering a gambling service to anyone in the State, by whatever means and regardless of whether the operator is based in the State or elsewhere, must have a licence.  A new executive agency will act as both the licensing authority and regulator for the sector, and will have responsibility for checking compliance and in enforcing the law generally."  He went on to say  "I am committed in particular to ensuring that there are effective and robust safeguards in place to protect young people and those for whom gambling has become a problem. The Bill introduces a range of new measures including the introduction of age restrictions; staff training; controls on advertising, promotions and sponsorship; the establishment of a new Social Gambling Fund to assist with treatment services; a new complaints procedure for consumers; and new arrangements to assist consumers seeking compensation from a licence holder."

All of these proposed measures would be welcomed by Problem Gambling Ireland, as the current vacuum in legislation only serves to create an environment where gambling-related harm can thrive.  A dedicated Gambling Regulator with the power to press criminal charges against gambling licence-holders who breach the proposed laws would greatly reduce some of the sharp practices currently in evidence.  Also, a Social Fund, into which gambling licence-holders would be compelled to contribute, would greatly increase the provision of dedicated gambling addiction services in the areas of treatment, prevention, education, research and evaluation.  

However, the response from one of Ireland's Gambling Industry heavy-weights, Paddy Power,  may be indicative of the general attitude to the proposed legislation within the industry.  In theirsubmission to government in relation to the Heads of the Bill, they stated "We are concerned however by the proposal to apply the contribution to the Social Fund based on turnover (Head 80) given the intense international competition for online gambling and the narrow margins which generally apply for gambling products. We would encourage the Department to explore models from other jurisdictions that have similar systems in place which are working effectively, for example the UK where operators contribute voluntarily to the Responsible Gambling Trust (RGT) on a flat rate based on scale".  It is worth noting that only 63% of gambling licence-holders in the UK actually contributed to the fund in 2014/2015 and that they raised the paltry sum of £6.5 million from an industry which posted profits of of £1.42 billion in 2013 from Fixed Odds Betting Terminals alone.  Paddy Power's pre-tax profits for 2014 were €166.6 million.

Surprisingly, Paddy Power, who are renowned for pushing the boundaries in their advertising campaigns, also took issue with the Department of Justice's proposals in relation to advertising and sponsorship.  The gambling giant would prefer  Codes of Practice and Codes of Conduct in gambling advertising (which already exist) rather than primary legislation.  Paddy Power give the following example: "a failure to remove online promotional material within 12 hours could trigger a summary prosecution and sponsorship of an adult sports team which has one 17 year old player would infringe Head 74. We would respectfully query if such granular restrictions would be workable in practice.".  I have no doubt that Paddy Power and other gambling industry members would have some difficulty with any restrictions, granular or otherwise, as it limits their ability to actively encourage problem gambling (which  generates up to 75% of gambling industry profits in some jurisdictions) and to (inadvertently) promote gambling to children by advertising before the watershed and through sports sponsorship. 

Some facts on gambling in Ireland and globally:  

• Ireland has the second highest gambling spend, per capita, in the world (based on 2010 figures).
• Ireland has an estimated 28,000 - 40,000 problem gamblers (2015 UCD/Dept of Social Protection research).
• Fewer than 1% of people who would benefit from problem gambling treatment receive it. (Gamble Aware, 2011).
• Adolescent gambling in Ireland is 2-3 times greater than that of adults (Irish Institute of Public Health, 2010).
• The health and social costs of problem gambling appear to exceed government revenue gained from gambling taxes and businesses (Irish Institute of Public Health, 2010).
• ​1 in 5 problem gamblers attempt suicide - more than double to figure of other addictions (U.S. figures, National Council for Problem Gambling). 
• The U.S. National Gambling Impact Study Commission found that for every compulsive gambler, five additional people are affected by the addiction (this could mean up to 240,00 people negatively impacted by gambling in Ireland).
• Ireland currently has no dedicated gambling addiction treatment service.

On behalf of the estimated 240,000 people in Ireland, whose lives are negatively impacted by gambling-related harm, all of us at Problem Gambling Ireland ask that the new Government act quickly to enact the Gambling Control Bill.