Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 6 Dec 2022

Vol. 1030 No. 5

Gambling Regulation Bill 2022: Second Stage

Minister of State at the Department of Justice (Deputy James Browne)

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I am pleased to have the opportunity to present the Gambling Regulation Bill to the House. I know there is significant support to progressing this landmark legislation and I look forward to hearing Members' contributions. Today is a true milestone for this long-awaited Bill. This is important and necessary legislation and reform designed to meet the challenges of gambling responsibly in 21st-century Ireland.

The advent of the Internet has wrought considerable and rapid changes to gambling activity, with more ease of access to gambling than we could ever have thought possible. Everyone, including children, can now carry a mobile casino on the phone in their back pockets. It is, therefore, vital for all concerned, both the individuals who partake in gambling and the companies which provide such activities and services, to have a robust regulatory framework with public safety as a cornerstone. The Bill takes a responsible approach to balancing the freedom to gamble with the safeguards to protect people from falling prey to addiction. It provides a clear framework for operators and consumers. Importantly, it is intended to help to protect children and prevent harm to people vulnerable to problem gambling.

The primary objective of the Bill is to present the framework for a robust regulatory and licensing regime for the gambling sector in Ireland. It provides for the establishment and statutory functions of a body to be known as údarás rialála cearrbhachais na hÉireann, the gambling regulatory authority of Ireland. The Bill aims to ensure gambling is conducted in a fair and open way for companies to make decisions with certainty. It will require safeguards to address problem gambling, including protecting children and addressing gambling advertising, and prevent gambling from being a source or support to crime. I am hopeful, with the support of both Houses, this Bill will be signed into law and enter into force by mid-2023, with the intention of establishing the authority later next year.

As part of the Government's commitment to establish a gambling regulator, in September this year, Ms Anne Marie Caulfield was appointed CEO-designate of the authority. Ms Caulfield is working closely with my Department to identify staffing and resourcing needs and to develop procedures for how the authority will function once it is operational. Ms Caulfield's ongoing preparatory work, in parallel with the passage of the Gambling Regulation Bill, will ensure the authority will be ready to hit the ground running once it is formally established. A phased commencement will be necessary in light of the scale and complexity of the transitional and operational arrangements for a new licensing and regulatory regime.

I am conscious that many people have strong views on the issue of gambling and Deputies will appreciate that there is a balance of interests and considerations in this legislation. The size of the gambling industry in Ireland is more than €6 billion annually, with an impact economically and for employment. Furthermore, gambling activity is an important fundraising activity for many of our charitable and local community organisations. l know many people occasionally gamble as a form of entertainment and for most people, it is nothing more than that. However, I am deeply cognisant of the fact that it has been shown that some of our population, in common with populations globally, are involved in gambling to a problematic degree. The side-effects bring poverty, worry and crime, as well as damage to families and personal relationships. The Health Research Board, HRB, in its report published earlier this year, has pointed to key trends in gambling prevalence in Ireland. The gambling industry is large, complex and technologically advanced. Furthermore, the necessity to counter illicit activities such as money laundering and terrorism must be paramount.

Given these factors, it is vital to establish an appropriately empowered regulatory body. This Bill seeks to provide safeguards to ensure a balance of appropriate regulation of operators and to protect against those who are vulnerable to problem gambling. It is important to highlight that the strategic approach of this Bill is that key regulatory controls are devolved to the most effective layer of authority. This level of subsidiarity will ensure an effective and empowered statutory body with ministerial, Government and Oireachtas oversight to an appropriate and proportionate degree. This will empower the authority to operate with agility with regard to licensing and regulation. This is critical in light of the scale, complexity and rapidity of developments in the gambling industry.

As Members will know, the general scheme of the Gambling Regulation Bill was approved by the Government on 15 October 2021. Pre-legislative scrutiny was undertaken by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice which issued its report in May 2022.

I have considered each of the recommendations made by that committee in the development of this Bill and while we may not get to address each point today, I look forward to ongoing engagement as we progress the Bill.

At this point, I wish to bring the following issues to the Dáil's attention. Regulation of the national lottery will not come under the remit of this Bill at this time. It is provided for in the National Lottery Act 2013 and has its own regulator. Part 9 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022, where it provides for lottery fundraising by political parties, will remain unaffected by the Bill. Excise matters are outside the remit of the Bill. The Bill will require notification to the European Commission under the technical standards directive as it provides for the power of the authority to impose legal obligations regarding technical standards in relation to gambling products and gambling-related services.

I will now outline the main provisions of the Bill. Part 1 is about preliminary and general matters. It contains standard provisions dealing with the Short Title and key definitions. It is important to note that further provision is required to ensure appropriate transitional arrangements are made for persons licensed under current arrangements. Work on this is under way and will be brought forward in Government amendments.

Part 2 provides for the establishment, statutory functions and funding of the authority. It will be operationally independent but subject to appropriate oversight. There will be seven members of the authority, including its chairperson. The Bill provides for the key role of the authority's chief executive in the day-to-day management of the organisation. In line with the recommendation arising from pre-legislative scrutiny, the Bill provides for the establishment and operation of a national gambling exclusion register to allow persons to register with the authority to exclude themselves from gambling online with licensees. The Bill provides for the establishment of a social impact fund. It will be financed by mandatory contributions, calculated annually on each licensee's turnover. However, such contributions will not be levied on charitable or philanthropic licensees. Its purposes are to finance research and related initiatives to address compulsive and excessive gambling, support awareness-raising and educational measures and support problem gambling treatment activities.

Part 3 sets out criteria for ineligibility to become a member of a relevant office, along with provisions on disqualification and removal. It sets out standard provisions regarding non-disclosure of confidential information and provides for an offence of providing false or misleading information. It provides for the restriction of rights and obligations under the data protection regulation and an amendment to the Freedom of Information Act 2014.

Part 4 provides for a number of prohibitions and creates related offences. A person who provides a gambling activity without a licence shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment and-or a fine at the discretion of the courts. The authority will be empowered to apply for various court orders such as to block Internet service provision of a prohibited gambling activity and to block financial payments to unlicensed providers. A court may also order that a gambling licence held by the licensee in question be suspended or revoked.

Part 5 deals with licensing of gambling activities. The Bill provides for the authority to manage a modern, streamlined system of licensing gambling activities in the State to replace the outdated and fragmented regime currently in place. As the Bill progresses, the Government will seek to ensure that the proposed licensing framework is as comprehensive as possible for the authority to fulfil its mandate. Part 5 provides for new betting licences to replace the existing bookmakers' licences and totalisator licences and a new gaming licence to replace gaming permits and licences. The authority may specify the types of games and activities that may be provided under a gaming licence. In addition, this Part also provides for a register of licensees to be maintained by the authority.

The Bill provides for a new lottery licence to replace lottery permits and licences currently provided under the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956 to cover, for example, activities such as lotteries, raffles and bingo. The Bill provides for a new type of licence that permits gaming, betting and lottery activities for fundraising for charitable or philanthropic purposes, such as local sports clubs and good causes. There is also provision for a new type of licence to allow for once-off lotteries of prizes of up to €360,000 in value for both commercial and charitable or philanthropic purposes. Persons who sell or supply gambling products, or who provide supporting or related services, will be licensed. The maximum stake and prize limits, broadly in line with current limits provided for in the 1956 Act, for each of the activities permitted under a licence are set out in Schedule 3 to the Bill. These amounts may be varied by the authority.

Part 5 also provides for two exemptions from holding a gambling licence, for charitable or philanthropic purposes where the value of the total prizes does not exceed €2,000 or for marketing purposes where the value of the total prizes does not exceed €5,000. To further the protection of children, Part 5 also provides that in considering an application for a licence, when determining the suitability of a premises from which to provide gambling, the authority must consider the proximity of the premises to schools and if gambling is offered elsewhere in the area. The authority is obliged to consult the relevant local authority and the authority's assessment of a premises will not supersede the role of a local authority in determining planning permission.

This Part also empowers the authority to set standards for gambling machines and software, related services such as their maintenance and upgrade and the certification of certain types of gambling equipment by the authority. The Bill provides for the establishment and maintenance, by certain licensees, of segregated customer accounts. This is an important safeguard for the public, built in to ensure appropriate governance and accounting in respect of funds.

Part 6 deals with obligations on licensees and other persons. This Part includes critical safeguard provisions about the protection of children, advertising of gambling, inducements and promotions, payment methods and the protection of participants in gambling. The Bill contains fundamental provisions to protect children from gambling, including the prohibition on allowing a child to gamble, prohibition on allowing a child to be on a premises, protections in connection with remote gambling, and prohibition of employing children in gambling activity. Part 6 provides for a prohibition of advertising that appeals, or is intended to appeal, to children. The Bill does not provide for an outright ban on gambling advertising or sponsorship.

Any advertising that promotes excessive or compulsive gambling, or seeks to misrepresent any perceived social or financial benefits of gambling, shall be prohibited. To address the proliferation of gambling advertising on social media, it is intended that persons may only receive gambling advertising where they opt in to receiving it on an on-demand or media sharing platform or in the case of social media, only where a person subscribes to such services and platforms and gives consent to receiving such advertising. Importantly, the Bill provides for a watershed prohibiting the broadcast of gambling advertising on television and radio between the hours of 5.30 a.m. and 9 p.m. 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 to specify the frequency, duration and number of advertisements.

Part 6 includes several measures to address sponsorship and the supply of branded clothing and merchandise by gambling licensees. This Part provides for a new offence where a licensee offers any form of inducement to a person to encourage the person to gamble or to continue to gamble. This includes the offer of hospitality or VIP treatment, free bets or favourable treatment or better odds to entice a person to gamble. Also of note, this Part provides that following consultation with the authority, regulations may be made to limit or prohibit the offer of promotions by licensees that directly or indirectly encourage the public at large to gamble.

Part 6 also includes a number of measures to protect people while gambling, including a ban on the use of credit cards or the offer of credit facilities. There is to be a prohibition on facilities to withdraw cash at certain licensee's premises.

Part 7 deals with complaints. This Part sets out the procedures for a complaint to be made to the authority and the actions the authority can take in relation to an alleged contravention by a licensee of a relevant obligation.

Part 8 deals with compliance with and enforcement of obligations of licensees. This Part provides for key elements of the authority's regulatory regime, namely, its statutory powers in respect of compliance and enforcement. Where non-compliance is identified, and in determining what course of action to take, the authority will consider a range of factors, including the nature and gravity of the failure to comply. The authority will appoint authorised officers whom the authority may direct to undertake investigations. Following consideration of an authorised officer's final report on an investigation, the authority may take a number of courses of action, including referring the report to an adjudication officer for independent consideration. Adjudication officers will have extensive powers, including being empowered to hold oral hearings, call and question witnesses and request submissions or information from relevant parties. Where an adjudication officer decides that a licensee is, or has been, in contravention of a relevant obligation, one or more administrative sanctions may be imposed, subject to the exercise of a right of appeal by the licensee or confirmation by court on application by the authority. These sanctions are a financial penalty, suspension of a gambling licence, revocation of a gambling licence or imposition of a condition on a gambling licence. The amount of a financial penalty imposed as an administrative sanction shall not exceed €20 million or, if greater, 10% of the turnover of the licensee in the financial year.

This Part also provides for the authority to apply to the court for emergency orders in respect of licensees where the authority considers there is an urgent need to act in order to protect the public from the serious consequences of an ongoing contravention of a relevant obligation by a licensee or to protect relevant funds in a segregated customer account.

Part 9 provides for a range of appeals to be made by licensees in respect of decisions made by the authority. Appeals may be made, as provided, to an appeals panel or to the Circuit Court.

Ireland has been waiting a long time for this legislative reform. It would be remiss of me not to note the contribution of my predecessor, Deputy David Stanton, and his efforts to advance this matter and the development of this Bill. I am also grateful to my officials, the Attorney General and his team, and the many others who contributed to this Bill. It is a detailed Bill and covers many complex issues in a flexible, forward-thinking and principled manner. It has the potential to bring about considerable benefit and clarity for operators, consumers and the wider public. I commend it to the House.

Deputy Thomas Gould

I begin by acknowledging this Bill is a huge step forward. It has taken 14 years to get here. It is unfortunate that, once again, we have complex legislation being pushed through ahead of Christmas. I hope the Government will give us time to debate, analyse and strengthen this legislation because we recognise it is badly needed.

We must recognise the men and women across the island of Ireland who highlighted the harm caused by gambling. We are here because these men and women refused to allow this harm to continue. There are potentially 55,000 people in this State engaged in harmful gambling behaviour, according to the latest Health Research Board data. Each of these people has a family, friends, colleagues and a community who are also affected. The number of young people engaged in gambling who are at risk of harm is one in five. That is a shocking statistic and it highlights just how far we must go to tackle it. I hope this Bill, coupled with proper resources for the addiction and recovery sector, can see us start to reduce the harm caused by gambling in this State.

There are a few important sections of the Bill I wish to address before outlining areas where we want to see change and where it is needed. The establishment of the gambling regulatory authority is momentous. I note the new CEO took up her position recently. I hope she is doing well and I wish her all the best in her role. We hope she will do great work. The ability of the authority to respond to national and international trends will be a huge asset and one I hope she will utilise.

Online gambling is, as the Minister of State mentioned, a space that is constantly shifting, evolving and changing. We need to see a proactive, responsive regulator that can move with the times. The establishment of the social impact fund will finally see gambling addiction services resourced properly. As the HSE currently provides no funding for services specific to gambling addiction, the fund will be of huge benefit. I hope we see the full roll-out of education programmes in schools and sports clubs to educate young people and their role models. We recently saw the issue with an industry-funded organisation educating young people on the dangers of alcohol. We face the same risk with the Gambling Awareness Trust and we must nip this in the bud now. We need education provided completely free of any interference by the industry.

I will highlight a number of the changes we want to see. Sections 28 and 29 deal with the authority's annual report and the three-year strategy. I would like to see this strengthened to include deliverable actions. We saw this with the national drugs strategy and while there was a lot of disappointment at the failure to deliver, the actions allowed for transparency and monitoring of the objectives. That is good and positive in that we can see what the objectives are and whether they are being delivered.

Chapter 4 establishes the social impact fund. This, as I have said, is a step forward but I would like to see more done on the regulator's ability to recognise that some gambling offerings are inherently more risky than others and that some companies engage in more harmful behaviour than others. New Zealand has a provision in its legislation to recognise this in its social impact fund and this is reflected in the contributions paid by those companies. We should be looking internationally at where things are done best and trying to replicate them in our legislation.

I welcome that my provision to ban credit cards is reflected in section 157. However, I caution that when working with the Office of the Parliamentary Legal Adviser on this legislation, a loophole was found that needs to be closed. It relates to the use of online media such as Revolut to gamble with a credit card. I ask the Minister of State to consider including this provision because we all want the Bill to be as strong as possible.

I have a number of concerns about the establishment of the board. I am sure the House is aware that the housing committee is currently dealing with serious concerns about another State board. We must ensure we create an authority here that is watertight, transparent and fair. I appreciate the need for industry representatives to be on the authority but we should give statutory responsibility to the Minister to ensure this representation does not outweigh the voice of experts, academics, service providers and those with lived experience who put harm reduction at the core of their work. We must not see an authority run by the industry and we must ensure and take all necessary steps to protect against that.

A number of appointment criteria are outlined in section 15(4). Lived experience is not included and this is an oversight. Sinn Féin's all-island recovery charter recognises the right of those in recovery to participate in change-making and decision-making. Their voices need to be heard. They are the people who have the lived experience and, with it, the knowledge we need and which the authority needs to use. I ask the Minister of State to include the expertise sought for the authority and consider lived experience in gambling addiction. This gives us an opportunity to ensure all policies of the authority are reflective of the reality on the ground.

We must do everything we can to impact the board and make it as open and transparent as possible. We must see a proactive, responsive board that can work with all stakeholders to properly regulate this industry because for too long gambling and gambling-related harm have been hidden behind closed doors. I hope the debate on this legislation today and in future will act as a catalyst for the conversation in our schools, sports clubs and even bookmakers. That conversation on how we reduce harm and recognise harmful behaviours is long overdue. Parents must have this conversation with their children and families across the board need to have an open and frank discussion about it. Unlike many other addictions, there are no physical signs of gambling addiction but, just as with others, it can destroy lives and rip families apart. The impact of gambling on families is often overlooked.

The regulatory authority, when established, would ensure a portion of the social fund would go towards family supports. Watching a loved one spiral into addiction, often damaging the finances and emotions of those around them, is traumatising. Trauma breeds addiction and we need to try to address this. A Sinn Féin Government would make sure these conversations are happening. We would start them in every corner of society in the hope that people who are struggling in the dark right now could come out and walk tall with regard to their problems. They need to get help. I hope this authority and the work we are going to do will help to provide that. I hope the Minister of State has listened to some of the points I have made today and will consider these changes. We are looking forward to working constructively with the Government on this because we believe the only way to protect those 55,000 people in this State and their families is by having a strong gambling regulator and a strong Bill that provides the support necessary.

On Monday, a gentleman came into my clinic who told me how he had lost his family, his partner, his two children and his extended family and was homeless. This man is working. He has a good job but he is in the throes of addiction. That is why it is so important that we get this legislation right.

Deputy Pa Daly

I will start with a procedural point. This Bill was announced as being approved by the Cabinet on 15 November, yet it took a full two weeks for a copy to materialise. We had pre-legislative scrutiny on detailed heads of the Bill but as we all know, the final version of a Bill can be much different. It would be better if the Government only announced Bills as being ready for approval when a full version can accompany that announcement. It would give staff time to prepare to consult stakeholders and so on. We would also be better able to field queries from constituents, as outlined by Deputy Gould, when legislation is announced. I appreciate that there is usually not a long delay but if the Government is to generate publicity off the back of a Bill, the actual wording being available is a reasonable expectation.

An overhaul of the regulation of gambling in this State is long overdue. According to the Health Research Board, HRB, an estimated 12,000 adults in Ireland are problem gamblers and a further 125,000 are considered to be at-risk gamblers. In addition, the study showed that more than one in ten men who have gambled in the last year are either at-risk or problem gamblers. This figure increases to one in five in younger cohorts. Finally, the HRB states that at-risk and problem gambling appears to be more strongly associated with poorer socioeconomic status and living in deprived areas. The risks are devastating, as we know. As elected Deputies, I am sure we are all aware of local constituents who have suffered greatly as a result of gambling, whether that is because of debt or sometimes taking their own lives.

No one is denying anyone the right to have the odd flutter on occasion. A legal and properly regulated gambling industry is important to stave off the involvement of organised crime. However, the key is regulation. The expansion of online gambling and the constant innovation of products in the sector means the State is in a race to protect the vulnerable. The regulation of online gambling, including the banning of bets at certain times, or at least the identification of patterns of betting that indicate someone is at risk, is important. The draft heads of Bill placed a number of obligations on providers in relation to this and I notice these are now absent from the Bill. The gambling exclusion register is a positive development but by the time someone has made an application, their losses could be significant. Anecdotally, we have heard of a lot of people losing money in the early hours of the morning when they are coming home and have alcohol taken.

It is not acceptable that the online operators can utilise the great amount of information they have on customers, through algorithms and so on, to infinitely expand their business without being compelled to use that information to prevent great losses being racked up, especially for those who have finite resources. That information also puts the online sector at an inherent advantage compared to the traditional retail bookmaker. A levy that reflects that would level the playing field. The work of my colleague Deputy Gould in this area, including his Private Members' Bill to ban credit card betting, should be commended. People who work in the industry have suggested that a tax levied on online deposits might also have some effect.

Public awareness and gambling addiction treatment should also be discussed alongside the Bill. The social fund is a welcome addition here but there needs to be a sea change alongside it. The treatment of gambling addiction is frequently linked to mental health. While the link is undoubtedly strong, gambling addiction is a specific issue too. We are beginning to get a handle on how to treat those with other addictions. Research into gambling addiction specifically should be the result of it. Again, this is something the Bill covers. A specific public awareness campaign free of industry influence would be important. Being "gambling aware" does little to help those with addiction. They could not be more aware of it if they tried. Supporting them in getting away from gambling is what we need to do. Supports and campaigns must be free of industry influence. The social impact fund will hopefully be a useful firewall for this.

I note that football now dominates bets placed here. Nearly all Premier League teams are dominated by the industry and betting companies. The funding to sports needs to reflect this as the social dividend from the elite levels of the game, supported by the industry, does not trickle down to the grassroots. For many local sports clubs, lotteries, bingo and even World Cup draws can be incredible fundraisers when run by clubs and leagues. We have received a few representations from bingo halls recently about their unique status. That is a subject to which we will return on Committee Stage. Regulatory costs must be borne by those most able to bear them, and smaller clubs and associations must not be completely discouraged from solid fundraising opportunities. The credit union sector, for example, has been regulated heavily, and understandably so, but we need to be mindful that regulations can have unintended consequences that we cannot foresee.

Other improvements over pre-legislative scrutiny include the removal of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform's ability to reclaim surpluses from the social impact fund. The provisions around age verification look to have been improved also, as there is a current issue with some sites where gambling can proceed before age verification is complete. This is wrong. The less ambiguity there is within legislation, the better. There are a number of other issues within the Bill but we intend to cover those on Committee Stage.

Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

I wish to give credit to the Minister of State and the work he has done here. He gave a commitment that this legislation would be brought before the House and he has been true to his word. Often in politics, people in his position do not get any praise whatsoever so I will say that much. It can be difficult to wade through all the different responsibilities, find the time to engage with all the stakeholders, produce a piece of legislation and bring it before the Oireachtas. I give credit to the Minister of State for what he has done. With the safe passage of this Bill and with the amendments we hope to bring forward, we will hopefully repair and enhance lives. The Minister of State has been articulating this for quite some time and it is quite clear that in the Bill we are recognising, after many years, the need for strict regulation in this sphere. I congratulate the Minister of State on that.

I also pay tribute to my own colleagues. Senator Mark Wall has spoken about gambling possibly more than any other issue since he came into the Oireachtas. He has been speaking on it regularly, he has published his own legislation around it and he has been engaging with stakeholders. I pay tribute to him and to Deputy Howlin, who took part in the pre-legislative scrutiny element of this Bill.

It is remarkable, when observing the history of this area of legislation, just how powerful is the gambling lobby. There used to be a levy of 20% on bets placed in Ireland. I do not know how many other industries have successfully lobbied their way from a levy of 20% down to what was 1% and is now 2%.

It is also remarkable that the wider lobby of interest groups has managed to ensure the levy on gambling goes exclusively to a fund which is disproportionately spent on prize money people bet to get their hands on. It is bizarre on one level that the levy funds an industry that encourages people to bet. The levy has not heretofore benefited anyone with a gambling addiction. It has not benefited any entity that might provide a different route for young people to stay away from gambling. It does not do anything in the health or education spheres. Every cent of the levy on gambling goes to the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund. Some 80% of that is for the horse racing industry, of which the vast bulk goes to prize money. Approximately €45 million of tax-free prize money was presented by the taxpayer to the horse racing industry last year on the backs of bets placed on everything.

When I say this to people in meetings, they are always perplexed by it. They ask how it happened. It is not only horse racing or greyhound racing bets that accumulate these moneys. Any bet on anything does. All the levies from bets on politics, football or the weather go straight into the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund. Therefore I suggest to the Minister of State that we should perhaps go back and consider raising the levy to where it was previously. While 20% sounds like a lot, 2% is certainly not enough and what we would accrue from an increased levy should benefit pursuits other than those that have such a culture of betting around them. You cannot hear of a horse racing in a race without hearing the price of a bet on that horse. You cannot hear about a greyhound meet without betting being referenced. It is almost unique in the sporting sphere in that when we hear about these sporting occasions, betting on them is front and centre of the commentary. It is a little perplexing how the gambling levy and that industry are completely intertwined.

As has been said, it is hard to watch any kind of sporting event in the current context without being bombarded with gambling advertising. It is true of television, radio and online. There was a time, when I was younger, when there was some kind of social control on betting. Bets had to be placed in a bookie's office which were only open between certain hours. There was a realisation that people had to physically go to the bookie's office so they had to regulate themselves as to how often they were there, who saw them there, the sense people had of them, how they carried themselves and if they were seen to be in the bookie's office too often. People's families would know if they were in the bookie's office a lot. They had a sense of how a person was spending money or engaging in gambling so they could keep an eye on it.

I sound like a very old person making these comments, but the advent of the Internet changed all that. It could now be done online. People no longer had to go to the bookie's office so that social control was more limited. With the advent of the smartphone in the past 15 years or so, that has completely gone out the window. People do not have to worry about social control involved in the physical trip to the bookie's office. No one has to know in any way how, when or how much a person is betting, unless someone has a sense of what is in that person's bank account. People can bet at any hour of the day or night. They can find a way of doing it even if they are children. We are told every hour of the day and night that we should do it. If people have an interest in sport, they are encouraged to bet by the advertisements on the front of the shirts and by entities that sponsor coverage on different broadcasters. It is a swamp that people almost need incredible discipline not to engage in, if they have a phone and are interested in sport in particular.

A huge amount of what is in this Bill is welcome, including the regulatory authority and the banning of gambling advertising between certain hours. We will be putting down amendments. Second Stage speeches are a general reflection of the state of play. On the gambling advertising restrictions, we must simply go further. I know the Minister of State has listened to various interest groups and is trying to strike a balance. That is fair enough, but to suggest that at 9 o'clock the influence of gambling advertising will be lessened because of who is watching television, listening to the radio or in the online sphere is not realistic. As has been said, if people who have a gambling habit in their life use their phone during their trip home from the pub, they will probably be more influenced by gambling advertising at that hour of the night than they might be at 1 o'clock in the day. We must have the same view of gambling advertising as we once had of cigarette and alcohol advertising. We have to kill it dead. We must move away from the cultural acceptance of a level of gambling noise. Members will be aware of the clever advertising that is done by various bookmakers and gambling companies. It is clever and can be engaging. It can be witty, funny or deliberately offensive, but as the Oireachtas, we must stand up more strongly and say this equates to alcohol and cigarettes because the damage being done is absolutely incalculable. If this is in a person's life, it takes over everything.

The Labour Party facilitated a conversation with Oisín McConville, who said that what young people are now going through is different from what he went through. The secrecy that surrounds it and the methodologies used are dangerous. I do not accept the bona fides of any of these multi-billion euro companies because their job is to screw people out of their money. As Deputy Daly quite rightly stated about BeGambleAware, it is a pathetic nod to something the companies do not really want to happen at all. As a collective political body, we must put the person at the front and centre of what we are trying to do and put protections in place for the person, for the person's family and for children who will be influenced by this. The world is very different from what it was like when I was a child, when the bookie's office was a place we might go once a year to place a bet on the Grand National. Now it is all around us, on our phones every hour of the day and night. It is destroying families and it will only get worse. I get the sense from this area that we are at the beginning of an epidemic, if we are not already there. It is so silent.

We will be putting down amendments to strengthen the Bill. The Minister of State is to be congratulated. He flagged this for a long time. He has brought it before the Oireachtas and, in fairness, he has delivered. That is in his favour and needs to be said on the record. It is strong legislation. We feel it could be stronger. The levy on gambling needs to be increased and should fund more than the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund because the ring-fenced nature of that funding deserves massive scrutiny and overhaul. Other sporting entities and pursuits need to be considered. When it comes to the advertising piece, I know the Minister of State has tried to strike a balance, but we need an absolute ban on gambling advertising and sponsorship. They should be treated as dangerous, in the same way as cigarette advertising. If we had that mentality, we might achieve something. I do not agree with this idea that we can open the gates at 9 p.m. because we know, with the money these people have, they will flood our television screens and our radio waves from 9 p.m. onwards. No advertisement other than gambling advertisements will be heard because that is the nature of what they do.

With those thoughts myself, Senator Mark Wall and other members of the Labour Party are determined to work with the Minister of State to make this more robust. We certainly have a good start because of the Minister of State's work. We will continue to work with him.

Deputy Alan Farrell

I welcome the introduction of the Bill and commend the Minister of State and the Department for the work they have done. It is an important step in curbing the issue of problem gambling and will allow for greater regulation of the gambling market. It is not a new phenomenon unfortunately. It has become a ubiquitous part of sport in Ireland, whether it is horse racing or field sports such as rugby, GAA or others. Even general elections are not exempt from the gambling advertisers: the Minister of State should consider passing an amendment to ensure that those who win on such bets should pass a portion of it on to the candidate on whom they won. I can think of a couple of people who have won significant sums on me over the years and never so much as bought me a pint. They shall remain nameless for the purposes of this debate.

For many people gambling is an infrequent affair. Many enjoy a punt on various events throughout the year. However, there was always a significant group of people who were vulnerable to developing an addiction to gambling. This is compounded by the advent of smart phones and gambling apps. Anyone can bet in almost any sort of sporting event in the world from the comfort of their own home with the press of a button. That allows some people to gamble far more than they should and far more than should be deemed responsible. Sadly it allows for some to gamble their way into financial ruin affecting their livelihoods and those of their families. The pace at which these scenarios can be reached is breath-taking. Moreover, it also affects young people, many of whom fall victim to gambling addiction at an early age. That can have a long-lasting effect on their lives. Therefore, this Bill is not only necessary but overdue.

In regard to the point mentioned by my colleague, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, on the sponsorship of events and championships, I cannot help but agree with him. This is something on which I and other members of the Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality in the 31st Dáil did a good deal of work in regard to public hearings on the matter. It would be remiss of me not to mention its chairman and current Deputy, David Stanton, who did significant work on this matter. We are at the point where it should not just be children’s sponsorship opportunities that are removed from the possibility of being sponsored by a gambling organisation. It should be removed outright. As Deputy Ó Ríordáin said, and I concur with him, this is as damaging to lives and livelihoods as tobacco and alcohol are. If we are going to remove those two other products from the opportunity to sponsor such events then I believe we should do so outright. I agree with him in that regard. I accept, acknowledge and support the establishment of the Independent Gambling Regulatory Authority as a significant step that will help us bring far more transparency and oversight to the gambling market. The Bill will also allow for the development of a fund to assist those with gambling problems and related matters.

However, we should also pay attention to limiting factors that we can implement in order to intervene before someone develops a gambling problem in the first place. Specifically I am speaking with regard to advertising watersheds, restricting online advertising and the location of gambling premises to maintain a distance from young populations such as schools, and to provide prohibition on children working in such environments. I am therefore pleased that this Bill will progress these issues.

I also welcome the inclusion of the prohibition on the use of credit cards for the purposes of gambling. This is an important inclusion that can limit the ability of vulnerable persons to run up large gambling-related debts. I also wish to draw attention to in-app games, many of which exist in gambling apps. I include the National Lottery app in this particular remark, which I recognise and believe is not included in this Bill. These games frequently require an entry fee to play at varying levels. They also use colourful graphics and a number of sound effects. We all know from whistleblowers in the social media sphere that these are often methods used to get people to return to these particular apps. I believe that more clarity and regulation can be brought to these digital games, which can see people invest significant sums of money in a short amount of time. We must also be aware that there are those who have multiple gambling accounts across different gambling platforms. There is a need for greater co-ordination and co-operation with gambling providers in order to limit the risk to consumers. I recognise this Bill will not solve every aspect of problem gambling. However, with the timely delivery of various sections of this Bill, sufficient resourcing and the implementation of intervention processes as well as educational campaigns across all levels of society about the dangers of problem gambling, we can see the beginning of a real reduction in problem gambling.

I commend the Minister of State for his work on the Bill as well as the previous Oireachtas committees which have worked on this area. I have already mentioned my colleague, Deputy Stanton. The Bill will make the gambling sector fairer and more transparent and provide for more regulation. I look forward to its passage into law.

I impress upon the Minister of State that if the opportunity arises, notwithstanding the significant work that he, the Department and others have done to bring this Bill together, that serious consideration be once and for all brought to bear, legislatively, with regard to the sponsorship of large-scale sporting events and that these insidious and often extremely damaging organisations that are perfectly entitled to sell a product but do not necessarily have to do so in such an “in your face” manner. A study carried out on the premier league in the UK recently found something in the order of 14 television advertisements for betting companies during half time of a popular derby game. That shows how insidious it has become.

Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú

There will be much agreement that this is a good first step. There was an element of waiting decades for this legislation but at this point we need, as mad as it may seem, not to rush it. We need to ensure we cover as many of the loopholes as possible. Many of us know people who suffered from gambling addiction, whether anecdotally, from the work we do in our constituencies or from those we know. I have heard it said many times that you can only drink so much, you can only put so much in your arm or up your nose but when it comes to gambling there are no holds barred. That is not to under-estimate or underplay the impact we have when we deal with those other addictions. However, given the free access people have in regard to gambling, unlike previously when people had to, as Deputy Ó Ríordáin said, regulate themselves to make it down to a particular place to make a punt, unfortunately because of smart phones to which we all have access, you are literally a step away from impoverishing yourself. The Health Research Board, HRB, report talked about 90,000 low-risk gamblers, whatever that means, 35,000 moderate-risk gamblers and 12,000 problem gamblers. We all welcome the moves in regard to the watershed in regard to advertising but a wider conversation is needed in regard to the entanglement of sports, gambling and advertising, and advertising within advertising. Trying to deal with the online sphere is incredibly difficult. Certain tools are now available to us because we are talking about the algorithms that some of the betting companies use to improve their own odds to get the best bang for their buck from some of their punters.End of Take

We need to be able to reset that game from the point of view of the algorithms being used, as they are in certain jurisdictions, and from the point of view of showing up problem gambling as soon as possible in order that it can be locked down. I understand that it is difficult to have a regulatory framework that can deal with this but that is the world we are in. It is what we are up against and it is what we need to deal with. We all know that from a very young age, children are being conditioned in regard to gambling. Again, we know of the games within games and we know about Roblox and casinos, and all the rest of it. It is way beyond reprehensible. As I said, there has been a huge impact on many lives.

We need to make sure we can catch as much as is necessary before the finalised Bill goes through. I hope the Minister is open to what the Opposition is saying and, in particular, to the amendments that will come from this side of the House.

Deputy Gary Gannon

I would first like to note that this Bill was published on Friday afternoon. It is simply not acceptable that we would effectively get two working days to look over a Bill of this importance. It is an unfortunate example of how rushed the Government legislative process is coming up to Christmas. I hope that Committee Stage will be taken in the new year so it can be given proper scrutiny. The Minister of State might confirm that when he responds.

The Bill is largely welcome. It is a big step forward in how the State regulates the gambling industry, which has been patchwork at best for decades. Problem gambling destroys lives, families and communities. To date, we have largely let the gambling industry run rampant throughout the country, with the few restrictions that are currently in place on its operation often being blatantly ignored, unenforced and easily worked around. A ban on casinos, for example, led to private members-only clubs being established, which are effectively casinos with an entrance fee. There are currently 36 in operation around the country, with the highest concentration in Dublin city centre, which is no coincidence. Under section 20 of the Betting Act, there is a ban on bookies displaying a list of the terms or odds for a bet on a particular match. Anyone can easily walk past their nearest bookie to discover how well that law is enforced.

The establishment of an independent gambling regulatory authority is welcome and sorely needed. However, gardaí need to play their part in enforcing all of these new regulations because they have not been enforcing those in place.

Advertising for gambling is fired at us from every direction all day, every day. It is so commonplace that the rate of ads we see is not apparent until we start looking out for it. Those ads, whether they are the happy, cheery national lottery ads of people installing water slides in their flats or the barrage of Paddy Power ads running up to Cheltenham, all encourage addiction.

The impact gambling addiction has on people’s lives is immense: the emptying of someone’s entire bank account or that of their partner and family members, scales of debt that people have no hope of paying off within their lifetime, social isolation, deteriorating physical and mental health, and a suicide risk that is 15 times higher than the average. Gambling addiction, like all other forms of addiction, has been long neglected by our health system. The HSE does not have any specific gambling addiction services. In the UK, the NHS rolled out gambling treatment centres in 2019, and while it is early days, it seems to have been a success story that we should look to emulate. It would be a good target destination for funds collected under the social fund in the Bill. We also need to look at the possibility of debt write-offs for problem gamblers as part of a treatment plan for gambling addiction. These debts hang over people’s heads for years, and the stress and anxiety they cause only reduces the chance of recovery and increases the risk of suicide. I want to know if the Minister has looked into the feasibility of such a proposal.

We have little data on the rate of problem gambling in Ireland and no regular national survey on gambling behaviour, which is the norm in many other countries. The latest available data suggests that about 31,000 people in Ireland would be considered to have gambling problems. The introduction of an exclusion list for online gambling will be a lifeline for many people who are stuck in the cycle of addiction. However, I do not see the sense in this list being restricted to online gambling. Surely this list could easily be integrated into the software used by bookmakers to log bets?

An Irish Times article from last summer reported that Irish gamblers lost approximately €1.36 billion in 2020, which is an average of €300 per person. We have the fourth highest rate of gambling in the EU and we are the 14th highest internationally in average gambling losses. Even more worrying are the statistics on gambling among teenagers. On every metric, 15- and 16-year-olds in Ireland gamble more than teens in the rest of Europe. Some 61% of 15- and 16-year-olds in Ireland had gambled on sports or animals, compared to the EU average of 45%, and 37% had used slot machines, compared to the EU average of 21%. A massive problem is brewing. Teenagers generally will have the disposable income available to them to have major impacts on their finances, and they are learning behaviours that will follow them into adulthood.

If we are serious about heading off that crisis, we need to seriously tackle advertising, sponsorship, and gambling in video games. The advances the Bill makes in cracking down on betting advertising are genuinely welcome. Having a 9 p.m. watershed for TV and radio ads, no gambling ads on children’s jerseys, no sponsorship for sports teams and venues that cater to children are all great initiatives. Why does the Bill stop there? It feels as if the Government is stopping right at the final hurdle in regulating advertising and sponsorship. There is no doubt a watershed is useful in keeping gambling ads away from children, but it is useless for any child old enough to stay up after 9 p.m. The children who are gambling are the ones we most need to protect.

Why should we allow TV and radio ads at all? For example, Belgium recently introduced a blanket ban on gambling ads. Has the Government considered this? If not, why is a similar ban not being considered? There is also the point that young people watch increasingly less live TV, meaning that the advertising we really need to be concerned with is that on social media. Social media advertising is much more dangerous in terms of problem gambling behaviour because those social media ads are cynically and purposefully targeted at people whom these companies know are hooked on gambling, or whom they think they can get hooked on gambling. This area needs to be heavily regulated domestically, and the proposed gambling regulatory authority needs to be active on this.

The wording of the ban on sponsorship and advertising in sports clubs, organisations, teams and premises that have children as members or cater towards children seems to work out as a near-blanket ban for most sports clubs and venues in the country. Will the Minister of State confirm that or outline how that section will play out in practice, considering most clubs have adult and young people’s team sports? I assume a small number of sports teams and grounds around the country cater exclusively to adults. Even Croke Park and the Aviva Stadium will have children playing matches during half time at senior games. Again, I have to wonder why the Government is choosing to stop there. Why not just have an outright ban on advertising and sponsorship for all sports and premises if it has basically the same effect?

The same logic applies to the ban on gambling ads on children’s jerseys. I reiterate that teenagers need to be particularly protected from developing the habit of gambling, and they are not protected at all under the Bill. Most older teenagers will be wearing adult jerseys with gambling ads before they are legally allowed to place a bet. Children who idolise sports stars have posters on their walls of their favourite players wearing a jersey with a gambling ad on it. Why allow them to advertise on jerseys at all? What about a young person on an underage team being asked to step up and play for the senior team? I hope this is not a lacuna that will have an effect on sports clubs themselves. Has a financial assessment been conducted of how sports clubs would fare without that sponsorship? Belgium recently introduced a law to phase out all gambling sponsorships for sports by 2024.

Gambling has been completely normalised for children and they link watching sport and gambling as being one and the same. There is quite a bit of research suggesting that if someone has a few early successes, they are much more likely to develop an addiction. We have to be careful about the exposure that children and young people have to gambling behaviour early on.

A comprehensive EU study in 2020 concluded that children and young people were learning gambling behaviour from games that sell loot boxes. A similar UK study found consistent associations between the features of buying loot boxes and problem gambling. This is not covered in the Bill at all but the Minister of State might cover it in his reply. There seems to be some reluctance from Europe to regulate this area because it will not accept loot boxes as a form of gambling as the rewards are not tangible. The reality is that third party sites do exist where people trade and buy the prizes for money. It should not matter in any case. Regardless of whether a rare outfit or weapon in some game has a real world value, people put a value on it, and they spend money to purchase the loot boxes even if they cannot cash them out through the game itself.

The pattern of, in essence, placing a bet for the chance of receiving a reward, with no transparency in respect of the odds of success, is clearly the same pattern as gambling, but with far less regulation than standard betting. We cannot wait around for the gaming industry or Europe to regulate this for us. I ask the Government to seriously consider bringing this under the remit of the regulator.

Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill

I thank the Minister of State for this far-reaching Bill and congratulate him on it. Significant work has gone into it. He has managed to go much further in the Bill than we on the justice committee expected when we did our work in this area. I congratulate him on the Bill, which I know has the opportunity to develop further through the various legislative Stages. In particular, I congratulate him on the provisions in Chapter 3 in respect of notifications, the obligation not to offer inducements, the obligation not to permit children to participate and the sponsorship provisions. Similarly, I congratulate him on Chapters 4 and 5. It goes very far.

I agree with Deputy Gannon regarding how the Bill could go further in respect of sponsorship and advertising. The Bill contains provisions relating to children up to the age of 18 but the Minister of State and I discussed recently at the justice committee in the context of young people generally how the brain develops up to the age of 25. I know he is considering measures in the context of young people up to the age of 25 in the area of youth justice, for example. Persons up to that age may still be considerably under the influence of suggestive material. Of course, this is difficult because the line between being a child and being an adult has to be drawn somewhere, but research shows that many people, particularly young men, can remain vulnerable up to that age. That point has been highlighted by those working in gambling addiction; I have not based my observations solely on my knowledge of the situation.

I wish to highlight a couple of points from the committee recommendations. As the Minister of State will be aware, we on the committee had an extensive engagement with representatives of the gambling industry. In many ways, it was a disappointing engagement. We proactively asked questions in respect of self-exclusion and the management of companies in tracking people they believed may have difficulties, or who had identified as having difficulties. Many of the responses we got focused on the UK operation rather than the Irish one. That was insufficient for our purposes. Some of the companies came back and provided better information but, as Vice Chair of the justice committee, I was struck by how ill-prepared the companies were for that line of questioning, given it is the point of the Bill, and how defensive they were in respect of it. One certainly did not get the sense that it was an issue they were proactively managing or that they were eager to explain to us all the safety measures they had taken.

The Regulator of the National Lottery recently came before the Committee of Public Accounts. The matter came up in that context at the committee two weeks ago. We were told the national lottery had erred in a related way. Some 48 people who had self-excluded from using national lottery products, which are just gambling products, of course, were subsequently contacted by the national lottery. The regulator imposed no sanction on the national lottery other than noting the matter in its annual report. It considers that to be a sanction but I do not. We on the committee followed up with questions relating to the number of people who had self-excluded from the national lottery. It appears there were 1,500 exclusions relating solely to national lottery products in 2020 and 1,300 in 2021. I raise that, first, to highlight the Irish context and, second, to show that the national lottery is very much a gambling product as well. Having had that engagement with the national lottery regulator, I was struck by the scale of advertising in which the national lottery and other companies engage, particular during "The Late Late Toy Show". Deputy Gannon also made reference to advertising. I suspect the Minister of State was busy with this or other Bills while "The Late Late Toy Show" was on, but I watched it and I was struck by how it seemed that during every ad break, there was an ad depicting two people passing over a national lottery ticket as a Christmas present. That was one of the first times that the scale of advertising became clear to me having had that recent engagement. The advertising was just related to the national lottery itself.

The Minister of State will forgive me for not knowing the technical phrase but there is a betting product whereby one can bet on the outcome of the national lottery. Irrespective of my criticism of the national lottery, no good can come from such a product. At least the national lottery has the good causes provision and transfers funds in that regard. I highlight that to the Minister of State. There is some value in the national lottery version but it is being utterly undermined by that betting product.

Another relevant piece relating to the advertising spend is that there is a provision for unspent or unawarded prizes in the context of the national lottery. The licence provides that such prizes should be redistributed to other prize funds, and may also be used for advertising. We on the Committee of Public Accounts, however, found that the inverse was true, in that 98% of that funding, totalling approximately €122 million, had been used for additional advertising, while a small amount was used for additional prizes. It occurred to me that we do not have visibility of the advertising spend in various forms of media. What is the actual advertising spend on a lottery product, by the national lottery or otherwise, with RTÉ, for example? What is the advertising spend with a particular group of newspapers or on local radio or wherever else? What capacity is there for mischief in that regard in the reporting of anything to do with those products or companies? Those data may be available to the Minister of State but, if not, that would be interesting research to conduct.

On the issue of whether advertising can be banned more broadly, the committee was told that if gambling advertisements were banned, that would result in the closure of more retail betting shops. We were told that almost 50% of the network of betting shops had closed in recent times and that the banning of gambling advertisements would push customers towards other avenues of gambling, such as unlicensed operators. I have no sympathy whatsoever for that argument. It is important to put that on record. We heard similar arguments in respect of smoking bans and other things - how the sky would fall down if these various things were done by the State. Of course, the State can do these things, and go further. Indeed, the Minister of State has gone further in the Bill. I wish to highlight, however, that he should have no fear in continuing to press ahead with the prohibition or regulation of advertising in every context. He should have no fear that the shops will have to close.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

I acknowledge the work of the Minister of State on the Bill. I congratulate him on bringing it to this Stage and fulfilling a commitment he made. I also thank my colleague, an Teachta Gould, and his team for all their work on this issue. Sinn Féin is happy to support the progress of the Bill to Committee Stage. We support the efforts in respect of the regulation of gambling. If anything, it is long overdue, as the Minister of State will acknowledge.

I have maintained for some time that problem gambling is a serious issue, which particularly impacts on young men. I spent four years raising the issue when I was Sinn Féin spokesperson on health in the previous Dáil. I am not anti-gambling as such, although I fail to see its relevance. I suppose it has some relevance for some people. I assure the House that any observations I have or suggestions I make are solely in the interests of protecting people with problem gambling habits, as well as their family and friends. It is often the case that behind a person who is suffering from and dealing with problem gambling habits there are family, friends and people who can be very damaged by the impact of those habits.

Research published by H2 Gambling Capital has continuously recorded Ireland as having among the highest gambling losses not only in the EU, but the entire world. That is a shocking statistic. It is estimated that Irish gamblers lost €1.36 billion, or approximately €300 per adult, in 2020. When one considers that many people do not participate in gambling, there are people out there losing money they can barely afford to lose, and many others who are suffering from problem gambling. With the advent of online gambling, the problem has been exacerbated. It was always obvious that, without regulation, vulnerable people were going to suffer.

Thankfully, many sporting organisations have seen fit to sever ties with gambling companies. I applaud the sporting organisations that have done so because it is difficult to get sponsorship and keep a club going. Fair play to those who say "No" to this type of money and "No" to endorsing gambling and gambling companies.

These organisations know this because they have seen at first-hand the damage the gambling industry has done to their members. It is essentially a take, take, take industry. Little, if any, money comes back to the games, particularly grass-roots games, from an industry that profits from sport.

While I welcome the Bill, it is another case of the Government following the public. The industry should have been regulated a long time ago but it took public testimonies from those who have suffered due to problem gambling. I say "Fair play" to those people for doing it because that is not easy. We have seen documentaries featuring sports stars who have been crushed under the weight of a problem habit, and families and lives that have been torn apart. It is safe for the Government to regulate now that the public are demanding it but it should have taken the lead on this years ago.

Deputy Gino Kenny

I welcome this legislation. It is long overdue. It is a lengthy Bill at more than 95 pages. I tried to read it but was limited in what I could take in. It is welcome that the Government is regulating an industry that has been largely out of control. Gambling is a big business and big business is gambling. It is worth an enormous amount, not only in Ireland but around the world, and is highly profitable. The problem that most people have with gambling is its insidious nature. We cannot watch any sport, particularly football at present, without seeing advertising relating to gambling. It is everywhere. The advertisements that come with gambling are pervasive and glamorous. To enjoy sporting activity, you have to have a bet on it. That is insidious in how people try to enjoy a sporting event that should be enjoyed. Online betting and gambling companies, however, have made it that people who do not have a stake in sport cannot enjoy it. That is the nature of online gambling.

Some people will have problematic use of gambling, especially online gambling, because everybody has a mobile phone. It is so easy to make a bet. People do not have to go to a traditional betting shop. They do not have to do that anymore and need never go there again. They can bet a lot of money via apps on their phones. These have become prolific, to say the least. They are everywhere and people can bet on everything. Most people do not win. The real winners are gambling companies. As I said, it is profitable.

There are certain weaknesses in the Bill around advertising. There should be a blanket ban on gambling companies advertising their industry. I have a major problem regarding how gambling is perceived, portrayed and conducted. There is nothing natural about gambling. People gamble and do not have a problem with it, but there has been very problematic use by those who could have a tendency towards that. There is also a socioeconomic factor to this. We find that people with problematic use come from a poorer socioeconomic background. That is where there are problems with losing one's wages, literally in seconds. That is also associated with gambling.

It is welcome that there is finally something to put a stop to the current circus around gambling. Everybody will agree that there are huge issues with its proliferation and the way it is perceived. That is the issue we have to take in. Gambling companies have hijacked many sports. They put a significant amount into sport, for example, football clubs in England. In the second division there, half the clubs have advertising sponsorship related to online gambling. It is everywhere. As I said, it has to be reined in. There has to be regulation, including around how it is advertised and perceived and so forth.

I welcome the Bill. As I said, there are certain weaknesses around advertising. The national lottery is another issue that needs to be addressed. The national lottery is gambling. Over time, particularly over the past five years, it has used a lot of advertising for purposes it was not set up for. If we look carefully at how the national lottery advertises itself, it has become more of a gambling entity rather than what it was set up to be. There was a weekly draw and people perceived that money went into the national lottery for good causes. That is largely not the case anymore. A lot of the surplus money from the national lottery is put into advertising to sell more products and gambling. It is all-pervasive. There needs to be regulation and it is to be hoped that this Bill, even though there are limits to it, can put a stop to this insidious behaviour that goes on in our society.

Deputy Jim O'Callaghan

I commend the Minister of State on managing to get this complex and complicated legislation onto the floor of the Dáil. He will recall that in opposition between the years 2016 and 2020, on numerous occasions, Fianna Fáil put forward proposals seeking reform of the legislation governing gambling. Regrettably, we did so without success, notwithstanding the fact we brought legislation before the House in 2018. The Minister of State, the Minister of State at the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Chambers, the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Rabbitte, and myself were to the forefront in trying to ensure the law in Ireland could be brought up to date. What primarily motivated us was the fact that we had met many of those people who had suffered from gambling addictions and whose lives had been destroyed as a result of finding themselves in a situation with gambling whereby they had either stolen or borrowed money to support their dangerous habit. It is a significant achievement that the legislation has come before the House. In fairness, I suspect the reason there was a delay in legislation coming prior to this is there may not have been the political urgency behind it and also because the legislation before us is unquestionably complex. It takes time to draft that.

Section 9 deals with an area that has been significantly in need of reform for a long period. If we consider the legislation that is being repealed, some of the only legislation regulating gambling in Ireland dates from 1929, the Totalisator Act, and the Betting Act 1931. We will also repeal the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956. In fact, in the previous Dáil, the only relevant legislation that was amended during that Government's term was the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956.

There are a number of interesting, innovative and effective provisions in the Bill. One I particularly welcome is the reference to the national gambling exclusion register, which is provided for in section 44. That will ensure that certain people, whom we designate and want to protect, will be excluded from being involved in gambling activity. These are people who themselves recognise that they have a problem with gambling. They know that one way to ensure they can try to deal and cope with that problem is by putting themselves out of the gambling process. They can now do that statutorily as a result of this exclusion register provided for in the Bill. More importantly, it provides that if a gambling provider does not comply with that exclusion, and allows somebody who has voluntarily excluded themselves to gamble, that provider will commit a criminal offence. I particularly welcome that provision.

The other aspect of protecting and helping people who suffer from problem gambling is to do further research into it and provide them with supports.

This is why it is so useful that we have in section 49 the creation of a social impact fund, which will be used to carry out further research into gambling and the damage it can inflict on individuals' lives. I hope to see the money from that fund being used to make people aware that, when it comes to gambling, the house always wins. That the bookies always win is not appreciated enough by people who have a gambling addiction or people who engage in gambling on a small-time basis. I have no difficulty with people engaging in gambling, for example, putting a bet on a horse and losing, but it would be beneficial to people if there was research to make them aware that the odds were always stacked against them and the house always won.

It is worthwhile noting that a significant amount of money is being made from gambling. The reason there is so much advertising is that it is a profitable business. Since there is a great amount of money being generated by the industry, it is only right that the industry pay for a social impact fund. I hope that the industry will consent to this, but even if it does not, it does not matter because we have decided as the lawmakers that we are going to do this.

Sections 83 to 87 set out the variety of licences that can be issued under the Bill. This recognises the fact that gambling has changed in recent years. Be it a gaming, gambling, betting, lottery, charitable or philanthropic licence that one wants, each comes with different requirements and they should all be recognised as different types of gambling licence.

Part 6 deals with the obligations on those who are involved in the gambling industry. As the Minister of State knows, one of the methods by which the gambling industry attracts people who have addictive personalities or already have gambling addictions is advertising. I welcome that, in section 141, it is expressly stated that advertising on television or radio will be prohibited between 5.30 a.m. and 9 p.m. It might be worth the Minister of State's while just banning advertising completely. Since we are discussing permitting advertising on television and radio from 9 p.m. through the early hours of the morning, we need to recognise that the gambling industry could target many vulnerable people at those times.

Under section 142, the industry will not be allowed to advertise on clothing that is worn by or targeted towards children. Another Deputy spoke about how English soccer betting companies were involved in a great deal of advertising. In the Premiership, betting companies sponsoring clubs seems to be universal. This section means that jerseys that are sold in Ireland cannot be sold to children if they promote betting companies on their fronts.

Regarding section 150 on sponsorships, I welcome that we are going to try to protect children where sport or events are being sponsored. We must ensure that we do not create a generation of people who believe that gambling is a form of normality.

Deputy Johnny Mythen

Gambling addiction is devastating many families, usually behind closed doors. What is a fun activity for some is a devastating, soul-destroying addiction for others. All the while, companies make colossal profits off this unbreakable cycle, particularly when there is a downturn in the economy. The Irish Times reported that Irish gamblers lost €1.36 billion in 2020, amounting to approximately €300 per adult on average, making the Irish the fourth highest gamblers in the EU.

While the Bill is welcome, it is long overdue, considering that the previous gambling legislation dates from 1956 and 2013. The Bill's main provision is the establishment of the gambling regulatory authority of Ireland. This is welcome and will bring the protection of children and the general public to the fore. Statistics show us that, over consecutive years, the gambling industry has grown extensively and shifted more towards online activity, particularly since the pandemic. It is becoming easier to access. Simply put, someone's phone has become his or her 24-hour bookie. Therefore, it is important for us to recognise and deal with the trending of online gambling and its promotion on social media sites.

I am unclear about the Bill's provisions, particularly under section 138, on the advertising of gambling online. This section seems to ban online gambling adverts unless the person has consented to such an advert, but if a person taps the "Like" or "Follow" button, does this count as a consensual contract to allow gambling ads to come flooding through his or her phone? Will the Minister of State elaborate on this point? Another issue is that gambling companies might not directly advertise online but will still maintain a social media presence through other content, such as memes, sports articles and videos. This is something we need to monitor and respond to. I raised this issue during the recent debates on the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill and tried to amend that Bill to ensure that the new media commission would be statutorily obliged to work with the gambling regulator, and vice versa, to deal with it. The amendment was not accepted, but I hope that both of the relevant Ministers listen to the premise of the argument. These two arms of the State need to work together to deal with the complexities of social media and gambling in order to protect our most vulnerable from the smarts, resources and manoeuvring of multinational gambling corporations and their ability to use legal muscle to circumvent legislation.

Gambling addiction is a road that leads to financial and mental health ruin. It is something that corporate greed profits off, and that is wrong. Robust legislative protections must be in place to counter this. I welcome the Bill. Our gambling legislation is long overdue an overhaul and needs to be brought into the modern era. We are taking a step in the right direction, but I hope that the online gambling section can be made clearer and be scrutinised more on Committee Stage.

I thank the Minister of State for introducing this progressive Bill.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh)

Next is the Regional Group, with Deputies Fitzpatrick and Verona Murphy sharing time.

Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick

This topic is relevant to my constituency of Louth and east Meath, as Louth, which is the smallest county in Ireland, has the highest concentration of betting shops per capita. Therefore, I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important Bill and I will support its progress on Second Stage.

A report by the HRB highlights that approximately 90,000 adults are low-risk gamblers, 35,000 are moderate-risk gamblers and 12,000 adults are problem gamblers whose gambling has negative consequences and entails a possible loss of control. According to the report, there are associated links between problem gambling, social deprivation and substance use disorders, which highlights the bidirectional negative influence of socioeconomic deprivation on an individual's life.

The main purpose of the Bill is to provide significant legislative and regulatory reform to ensure that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way, protect children, provide safeguards to address problem gambling, including in terms of gambling advertising, and prevent gambling from being a source of or support to crime. It is among the most significant Bills to be brought before the Houses in respect of the gambling industry.

The impact of gambling on many families and individuals has inflicted pain over the decades, especially given the nature of social media presence and online accessibility, which allows people to be targeted individually and often exploits their weaknesses. Last week, a constituent came to my clinic in Dundalk who had a gambling problem and, as a result, was living on the streets. Despite the homelessness section in Louth County Council helping him, he has a substance abuse problem and a gambling addiction and is not receiving the help he needs with rehabilitation. His is just one story. I speak with homeless people with addictions in my clinic weekly. They often become homeless as a result of numerous addictions, such as gambling, drink and drugs. Saying that the number of people addicted to gambling lies somewhere between 0.5% and just over 1% is massaging the figures. If we examined the proportion of regular gamblers who became addicted, we would find the proportion to be higher. That is where we should focus.

It is a known fact that sports and betting have become deeply intertwined in recent years. This has been driven by major television coverage, advertising and social media exposure whereby young people have been seduced by the glamour and excitement of sports and betting. This recreational exposure, which often leads to addiction, has led to vulnerable youths being drawn into the world of easy money. Given the way betting shops operate, it is not possible to control or monitor underage behaviour.

I will raise a number of matters specifically related to Parts 2, 4 and 6. Regarding Part 2, I support and absolutely welcome the provision for the establishment of the gambling regulatory authority of Ireland, the establishment of the national gambling exclusion register and the management of a social impact fund. These initiatives will reduce and eliminate compulsive and excessive gambling. This is a positive step. Additionally, the social impact fund will support problem gambling treatment activities and create awareness and educational campaigns around the dangers and consequences of gambling. However, it may be considered that provisions should be made for the proposed authority to consult regularly and effectively with the sector, particularly on the formation, governance and ongoing operations of any social impact fund introduced.

The gambling regulatory authority will operate as an independent regulator under the guidance of the Department of Justice. It is intended that the authority will regulate gambling, gaming and lottery services by commercial and non-commercial providers of such services, including advertising, in order to achieve a high degree of compliance with the gambling regulatory legislation. While the national lottery will not come under the remit of the gambling authority at this time, as its legal basis and its regulation will remain as provided for in the National Lottery Act 2013, the effectiveness and cost efficiency of potentially having two separate regulatory frameworks for the gambling sector are questionable.

The provisions in Part 6 will, in this digital age, address the proliferation of gambling advertisements on social media. This section contains fundamental provisions to protect children from gambling, including a prohibition on allowing a child to gamble and a prohibition on employing children in gambling activity. The section also encapsulates the advertising of gambling, the offer of promotions and payment method restrictions, such as a ban on the use of credit cards as a means of payment for gambling. The use of electronic methods of payment funded by credit cards and the offer of credit facilities to players offers protection to problem gamblers. I welcome these measures.

It must be acknowledged that an outright ban on gambling advertising or sponsorship is not provided for. However, a provision within this section addresses the proliferation of gambling advertising on social media whereby such advertising that appeals or is intended to appeal to children shall be prohibited by default. Importantly, this section provides wide-ranging powers allowing the authority to prescribe where, when and the form in which advertising may be broadcast, published or displayed; the times gambling advertising can appear on television, radio, on-demand audiovisual media services and video-sharing platform services each day; the frequency and volume of gambling advertising; and a prohibition on the use of material that would appeal to children in gambling-related advertisements. These are welcome measures.

I now turn to some of the provisions in Part 4, which provide for a number of prohibitions and offences. Centrally, section 65 prohibits a person from providing a gambling activity without a licence subject to certain exceptions. The overall policy intention is to encourage compliance rather than to enforce penalties for non-compliance. Where penalties are appropriate, Parts 4 and 8 provide the authority with robust powers in respect of a wide array of sanctions, from relatively mild to potentially severe, to address persons operating without a licence or without an appropriate licence. Yet, it must also be considered that legislation in this area will need to be compatible with EU law. Specifically, it seems likely that considerable work will be necessary to mitigate and manage any legal risks that could arise in relation to non-compliance and the disqualification or banning of a convicted licensee.

Gambling is a long-standing feature of Irish culture and a popular form of entertainment, but it has been clear for some time that a modern, sustainable and sector-wide regulatory regime, with a single oversight body, is required in this country. With the development of digital betting and gaming services, we need a strong regulator to ensure all gambling companies in Ireland work to reduce harm to customers for whom gambling becomes a problem. The fundamental difference between retail and online gambling is that we have much greater access to data on people's behaviours in respect of online gambling. With this model, it is possible to make predictions, make an impact and protect vulnerable people.

The establishment of a well resourced, evidence-led gambling regulatory authority is an extremely positive development. It gives Ireland the opportunity to be an example of regulatory excellence and we welcome this. The legislative challenge is to strike the right balance between allowing the vast majority who enjoy gambling safely to do so, while protecting those who are vulnerable to experiencing harm from their gambling. Today, however, we must ensure we have a proper framework governing the industry and that the legislation is robust, yet compliant with EU law.

Progress on these reforms, while overdue, is in the best interest not only of the tens of thousands of Irish consumers who safely participate in and enjoy gaming, gambling and lottery activities each week but also, importantly, of the smaller numbers of customers at risk of problem gambling, in addition to the wider public and the sector itself. In this regard, I welcome and support the advancement of this Bill.

Deputy Verona Murphy

I welcome the publication of this Bill, which is long overdue and urgently required. Our existing laws on gambling are hopelessly outdated and have created a situation where a significant cohort of our citizens are exposed to serious risk and hardship as a consequence of uncontrolled online gambling. It is said that a society can be judged by the way it treats its weakest and most vulnerable citizens. In that cohort, I include people who suffer a gambling addiction and whose lives are blighted by chasing losses and hoping for wins. Gambling addiction touches more than the addict caught in its grasp, however. It impacts widely on families, partners, children, the workplace and community groups.

Sadly, the State has been dragging its feet on introducing this new legislation and the limited enforcement of the existing limited legislation on gambling has done little to protect people who struggle with gambling addiction. Instead, it has allowed a vulnerable section of our society to fall prey to the increasing reach of highly sophisticated gambling companies. The rapid growth in online gambling, through the Internet and apps, means all of us have access to highly addictive games and formats at our fingertips. These online formats are run by highly sophisticated companies which are on top of their game in the operation and manipulation of players to bring them more and more into highly addictive gambling. For instance, a player might go on a website to place bets on a race, a match or even lottery numbers and then be enticed by free bets into taking a punt on a casino game, slots, a virtual race or the like.

In 2017, the Department of Justice estimated that the market for gambling in Ireland was upwards of €8 billion per annum. Most of that estimate was based on betting receipts, which were estimated, on the basis of betting tax receipts, at €5.22 billion, with the national lottery contributing an extra €800 million. No figures are provided by the Department, however, for revenues for online gaming. Some have estimated this could match the betting revenues. The figures from the UK provide a frightening backdrop to our discussion. According to a report by the House of Lords, 60% of the gambling industry's profits in the UK come from 5% of its customers.

It is amazing the types of things that can be gambled on. As bookmakers seek to increase their profits, the number of betting markets available during sporting events is increasing all the time. For example, during the England versus Senegal soccer game on Sunday night, I took a look at one of the prominent bookmaker's websites. I could back the result, the exact score, how many goals there would be in total, which players would score, which players would provide an assist, whether both teams would score, the number of shots a certain player would have on target, if any player would have a shot on target in both halves, the number of corner kicks in the game, the number of yellow or red cards, which players would be shown a yellow or red card, which players would foul and how many fouls they would give away. These types of markets are designed to keep as many customers as possible engaged and actively gambling all the way through the game.

In addition to this sports betting, we also see many different markets where bets can be placed, such as on politics or other non-sporting competitions. In four of the last five years, British punters have lost more than €14 billion annually in online casino games, sporting betting and other forms of gambling. It has been estimated that gambling addiction is responsible for more than 8% of all suicides in the UK. The most notable shift in the UK, which I have no doubt is mirrored here, is that remote gambling is now the dominant form of gambling there. Based on figures from the UK's Gambling Commission, it is not unreasonable to assume that online casinos here in Ireland account for close to €3 billion annually, if not more.

The pace at which the legislation is processed, the level of resources allocated to its implementation and, critically, the extent to which we enforce the existing gambling legislation will tell us much about how seriously the Government and all of us will take this issue.

I welcome the establishment of the gambling regulatory authority and the appointment recently of the CEO-designate, Ms Anne Marie Caulfield. I wish Ms Caulfield well in her role. She and her new team will have their work cut out for them. I hope the new entity will be properly resourced and funded.

The new regulatory authority will have responsibility for regulating global gambling companies with years of experience in managing regulations and regulators across a range of jurisdictions. Ms Caulfield will need to have her wits about her when dealing with these companies and will need access to the highest level of international expertise to ensure the regulatory structure here can be effective and challenging for the gambling industry. I do not mean any disrespect to the new authority but it needs to be clear that these gambling entities will know at first-hand how to play the regulator.

Over the past two years, I have become acutely aware of the impact of online gaming, in particular, on individuals who have been sucked into a spiral of addiction with entities that are expert at extracting money from them. I sought to get clarity from the Government as to the licensed status of these entities to see if there was any way control could be exercised over them. The practices that have been employed - free bets, free games and email marketing to people whose profile of play is concerning - are disgusting. I have no doubt the statistic showing that 60% of profits in the UK come from 5% of players applies here also. These companies know who to target and how to get them.

When I inquired about the powers to regulate e-gaming companies in Ireland, I was advised in a reply to a parliamentary question to the Minister for Finance that there is no provision for the licensing of e-gaming or online gaming in Ireland. In other words, the provision of online gaming, whether through online casinos, slot machines, virtual horse races, etc., is entirely illegal and in breach of our gaming and lotteries legislation. The current law in this area is the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956. The Act, while outdated, is clear on what it covers and does not cover. Any gaming that is not permitted under the 1956 Act is defined in section 4(2) of the Act as unlawful gaming. If the Act of 1956 does not include the provision of games and lotteries by remote means, as both the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, contend, then that gaming is unlawful under the 1956 Act and any person promoting or assisting in promoting or providing facilities of any kind of gaming is liable to criminal prosecution under section 44 of the Act. It would be helpful to hear a reply from the Minister of State on this issue.

Let us be clear about what I am alleging so that no one is muddled. I am not contending that gambling or e-gambling is illegal. The contention is that e-gaming is illegal in Ireland under our current laws. Online gambling, involving online casinos and online fixed-odds betting terminals, FOBTs, is not licensed or licensable in Ireland, yet FOBTs are being offered to Irish consumers on a host of online sites, some of which are operated by entities that hold betting or remote betting licences which only authorise them to engage in gambling rather than gaming. Equally, the fact that the Government is taking tax from the illegal offerings from remote betting companies and the Department of Justice appears to be offering certificates of fitness to these companies so that they can obtain a betting licence while clearly and manifestly breaking Irish law by offering illegal e-gaming services to Irish punters does not appear to have registered as an issue but it is one of great significance. Imagine the uproar, as I have said previously on the floor of the House, if it was discovered that Revenue was collecting VAT on sales from heroin, cocaine or prostitution, yet in the criminal law the position is no different.

It is also important to recognise that there are, of course, people who get enjoyment out of placing wagers on events and backing their opinion in a sensible and disciplined way. Gambling legislation must continue to make it possible for people to enjoy a sensible wager but must also be designed in such a way as to provide as much protection to problem gamblers in the State as we reasonably can.

Like my colleagues before me, I will table amendments to the Bill, which I hope will be a priority. Given the impact of unrestricted gambling activity on vulnerable citizens and their families, it is imperative that the existing law is enforced by the entities currently charged and funded with that responsibility.

Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor

I welcome the Gambling Regulation Bill which will establish the gambling regulatory authority of Ireland. The regulator will have the authority to implement regulations regarding gambling, while also being able to levy fees on gambling companies that breach the new rules. This is a positive step forward.

I campaigned for this alongside my party colleagues for a number of years outside Government and I am thrilled to see it now happening. Laws surrounding gambling in this country have not been updated, by and large, for over 70 years. The online space has changed how gambling companies operate. This can have a detrimental effect on those who are vulnerable to gambling. These new laws will ensure there are appropriate safeguards and measures put in place to protect people from gambling in terms of banning inducements and gambling on credit cards.

Many people across Ireland gamble safely within their means and enjoy it, but there are people who become problem gamblers and this can have a heavy impact on them and their families. This legislation will put in place consumer protection measures in order to reduce gambling.

I want to highlight an important impact of gambling. Where people get involved in gambling and it leads to the loss of their home or job, it is difficult to start again or pick themselves up again. While there are supports available, one issue that has come up recently is accessing a mortgage or loan. Some people have made amends and put that life behind them. To see them refused a chance - blacklisted - is heart-breaking. We need to address this issue to enable such people to participate again in a healthy society. The issue has arisen in my clinics. Only recently, a young lady who started gambling very young went and got the supports she needed, and her family were supportive. She cleared her debts and got a good job. She is now in a position to get a mortgage but she cannot get a mortgage or a loan because she is blacklisted. We must always be mindful of people who have now turned a corner. We do not want them to be blacklisted through no fault of their own but probably due to regulations. We need to ensure they get the support they need. I ask the Minister of State to consider this issue because it needs to be addressed.

I note that the Gambling Regulation Bill paves the way for the establishment of a gambling regulator focused on public safety and well-being. The reason I say that is that this is about well-being. There is much more to be done on this. I welcome the Bill and ask that the issue I raise be addressed.

Deputy James O'Connor

I welcome the extraordinary hard work that has been done by the Department of Justice and the Minister of State, Deputy Browne. I have worked and engaged with the Minister of State on a number of issues related to this Bill.

Many of the points made about the importance of this legislation in the short time I have been here are valid. I was particularly struck by a point made by Deputy Verona Murphy on the issue of problem gamblers and that 60% of gambling revenue comes from 5% of those people who engage in online gambling and gambling in general. That is an extraordinary and concerning figure which shows we need ongoing engagement with major gambling firms to see what can be done to reduce the level of problem gambling in Ireland.

I come from a unique perspective, having grown up in a family involved in horse racing. I am passionate about ensuring independent bookmakers, the small on-track bookies we see at race meetings, are allowed to compete with bigger players in the market.

One facet of the Bill and reform with regard to winnings is that if people win more than €2,000 on a long-shot bet on a horse or a small wager on high odds, there is a need for complex information to be provided on the source of income, funds and addresses. I find it a little peculiar when it comes to the impact it will have on small and independent bookmakers. When it comes to resources and having to deal with this information, they are not the same as Paddy Power, Ladbrokes, BoyleSports, Bet365 and other major operators. There is a need for us to differentiate in the debate between the major conglomerates and companies and the small on-site bookmakers. We all know who they are. There are many of them dotted throughout the country in Ireland and the UK. It is important there is differentiation in the debate. People who go into a bookmaking shop and bet €1 or €2 on four numbers that might come up in tomorrow's lottery could win a significant pot of money that is more than the declaration requirements. We need to bear this in mind. When somebody is lucky and has a big win, there will be a regulatory impact with these potential reforms.

Problem gamblers need effective protection from gambling companies and this is extremely worrying. We need to do a lot more work on this. I hope the legislation will advance our protections for people in this position. Like other Deputies in the House, I have seen the devastation that problem gambling causes for families in Ireland. Sadly, much like alcohol, drugs and other addictive goods or services, they can wreak havoc on people's lives. As legislators we must do what we can to help people in these situations.

What has really marked a shift in the past 20 years, and I have lived through this shift since being a small child to where we are today, is that mobile phone devices have unlocked gambling 24-7 for people throughout the country once they have a debit card or credit card. I am delighted to see the reforms in the Bill with regard to credit card gambling. This is the reality. It is not a case of sitting into a car and going to the local bookie's shop or going to a race meeting or the dog track for a day out and a day's sport. Access to gambling is now with people 24-7. This is the modern and new reality and it is one that, unfortunately, is hugely problematic for people who are vulnerable in this regard.

Deputy Pauline Tully

Many people enjoy the activity of gambling and do so responsibly but for some people and their families, gambling can become a very serious problem. Recent research by the Gambling Awareness Trust in conjunction with Maynooth University places the number of people in the South who engage in problem gambling at approximately 55,000. There is a need for greater action to help those at risk as when it comes to avoiding, and responding to, problem gambling only voluntary codes of practice exist. These were created by various sectors of the industry itself. I am, therefore, happy to support the passage of the Gambling Regulation Bill to Committee Stage.

Gambling laws in the State have not kept pace with the technological developments in the gambling industry - all while we have the highest online gambling losses per capita in the world and the third highest per capita losses overall. A regulatory authority for the industry is badly needed and is, frankly, well overdue. Any regulator must have the teeth and resources to properly undertake its functions.

In the current system of self-regulation the Gambling Awareness Trust, which was established and funded by the gambling industry, distributes funding to various services and research initiatives of its choosing. While this, in fairness to the industry, is welcome in the face of prolonged Government inaction with regard to problem gambling, it is neither an efficient nor viable long-term solution. There is no proper funding for awareness campaigns nor supports or treatment for problem gamblers. I hope this is envisaged as part of the social impact fund contained in the Bill. This funding must be free from the industry's influence. There is also a need for a dedicated gambling prevalence survey along the lines of what is in the North, where we can compare the issue of problem gambling throughout the island and the effectiveness of the responses put in place.

I will take this opportunity to commend my party colleague and Sinn Féin spokesperson on addiction Deputy Gould, who recently initiated a Bill to ban the use credit cards for online gambling. Online gamblers are able to use credit cards, their own or someone else's, to continue to feed their habit when other funds have run out. Deputy Gould's Bill would be an additional and important tool in restricting the accessibility of gambling to problem gamblers and reduce their ability to rack up enormous debts. I encourage the Government to ensure the passage of the Bill is not held up. I am happy to support the Bill before us and move it to Committee Stage when we can ensure the regulator that comes into being has the tools and resources to help individuals and families affected by problem gambling.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

The Gambling Regulation Bill, if enacted, will create significant changes in how gambling is regulated. In particular it will bring about some changes that are badly needed. It will establish a gambling regulatory authority of Ireland to ensure gambling is conducted in a fair and transparent manner. When I see regulators and regulatory authorities, I have questions. We have many of them in many areas. They have brass plates on the walls and fancy offices but they do very little regulation. This is what I fear is what happens. They are like a flu the way they are expanding. They are mushrooming.

The regulatory authority will mandate safeguards to counter problem gambling and ensure the protection of children. Most importantly, it will establish powers to regulate gambling advertising and provide the authority with enforcement powers in addition to licensing activities. The authority will also be given wide-ranging powers of enforcement. Tá súil agam gur sin an effect a bheidh aige but will it happen? These powers include the power to apply to the court for an audit to prevent or block access to remote or online services, and the power to carry out tests and audits on problem gambling services in an undisclosed manner. This is what we need. We need people who have the power to arrive and check on spec. One of its most significant powers will be the power to impose administrative financial sanctions. The amount of money being discussed with regard to sanctions is staggering. There will be sanctions of up to €20 million or 10% of turnover in the High Court.

The Bill passed pre-legislative scrutiny which is good. The grim reality in Ireland is that problem gambling is growing every year and the situation that is growing with young people is a great pity. Is mór an trua é. They have mobile phones when they are very young. We all know of many cases of perfectly responsible people in responsible jobs and businesses, such as managers of post offices and other places, who have fallen victim to this and ended up in misery for themselves, their families and their workplace. It has to be tackled. We are slow to come to the tackling.

All of the advertising from the big companies that comes on is bamboozling. I am here to represent the small one-man, two-man, man-and-wife or man-and-son local and small independent bookmakers. They go out every day to earn an honest day's pay. They know their clients. They know when something is wrong. They can confide with their clients and perhaps tell them they were unfortunate and they might need to have a look at themselves. They are in every town. I know many of them in Tipperary who work at the Clonmel track and race courses all over the county and ar fud na tíre.

Unfortunately the available data point to problem gambling growing here every year. According to the counselling group Extern Problem Gambling, the number of new visitors to its website has increased tenfold in the past six years. The political system has to be ahead of this. We are way behind and we have to catch up. This can follow people not only home but into their bedrooms, offices, back gardens and bars or restaurants when they go for a meal. We have to be able to deal with it. We have to have an organisation that has the power and staff that will work outside hours, break down the barriers and borders and do this.

They must have the support of An Garda Síochána and indeed of the community at large. We cannot allow big gambling houses to circumvent this legislation. As I said at the start of my contribution, we cannot have a regulator that has a brass plate on the wall and a fine, big office, but has little staff to monitor. We need staff who have expertise in this area. We can say that every division of An Garda Síochána must have a unit for this, that and the other, but this unit needs tax resources. If this regulation is passed, it will need to be implemented rigorously. I hope it will pass and I do not see any reason it would not. It has gone through pre-legislative scrutiny. I want to see, as I do in the case of all legislation, an impact analysis and an assessment within the first 12 to 15 months. That should deal with how this is bedding in, and look at whether it is having the desired effect and is protecting our young people especially.

Deputy Richard O'Donoghue

Research is telling us that 61% of 16-year-olds in Ireland have placed a bet. The Oireachtas justice committee's report on gambling has warned that 3,400 young people under the age of 18 have a problem with gambling. We all know how dangerous gambling is. We can see how, with the touch of a button, people can now gamble 24-7.

I am a big supporter of the horse industry and the greyhound industry. If you go for a day out to horse racing or a night out to greyhound racing, you will go to the bookies who are there on the day or you will have a bet on your night out. That is responsible betting. However, being around betting 24-7 as advertisements are pushed out makes people think it is normal to have betting. I have major problems with that. I am for any legislation that will help members of the younger generation and the older generation who have a problem.

We brought the Impaired Farm Credit Bill 2022 before this House last week, but it was voted down by the Government. In some of the situations we were looking at, farms were under threat due to gambling. The family home cannot be protected in such circumstances because the Government voted against the Bill. We do not know the circumstances of anybody's family. There could be alcoholism or gambling addictions and those affected require help. The people who are trying to help them also need help. We tried to do this last week when we brought the Impaired Farm Credit Bill before the Dáil, but the Government voted it down. That would have been another protection for people who have a gambling addiction.

The biggest thing we need to do is to educate younger people on the limits of what they can bet, and show them that they will not be looked down on if they do not have a bet. I see many people who bet responsibly but a minority of people have an issue with betting and cannot stop. It is a disease and we have to try to help people by putting things in place. This will help the generations and let them know how they can bet responsibly.

Some advertisements are being put up around schools. Some online advertisements are trending on phones non-stop. We are talking about gambling today and I guarantee the Minister of State that in the next three or four feeds on our phones, something to do with gambling will show up to make sure that we look at this content on our phones. We should tackle that. As I have said, if you want to go for a day out and have a few flutters, that is normal. However, we have to protect the people who are gambling 24-7 from their homes. They can use a credit card and put themselves into serious debt. They think they can bet their way out of it. I will give 100% backing to every Bill that is tabled in this area to protect those people. Every household in Ireland has been hit with some form of gambling or alcoholism within the family. We want to give protections to people. The Gambling Regulation Bill is a chance for Ireland to bring its outdated laws into the 21st century.

Gambling companies know that the game is up. The experts are facing down the odds once and for all. Let us turn the odds not against the ordinary bookies who are at race meetings, etc., but against the social media giants that take advantage of people 24-7 with repetitive flashes to go betting. Let us target them and make sure the regulation is there for the next generation and for the generations that are here at the moment. We must protect them, their families, their futures and the livelihoods of others. I will support any Bill that will protect families and the futures of the people to come.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak about this Bill. Like all of us who have been elected to this House, we know that gambling addiction causes problems that lead to the breakup of marriages, homes and relationships and clean out businesses and farms. It is like everything; if you do it in moderation, it is fine. As with a few drinks or any substance, a little bit in moderation is fine. When it takes over, becomes an addiction and becomes compulsive, gambling can be a serious problem in many households. It has left many wives short of money at the end of the week to provide food and to look after the children in the family unit. It leaves them short of many different things. It puts their homes and their houses in jeopardy and it can end up at a point where they lose their homes. It is very sad when people who have done well and worked so hard for many years to acquire or build a home, a business or a farm see it go under the hammer because of their addiction.

I am very worried about online gambling. This Bill includes the provision of betting licences, gaming licences and lottery licences, which are for in-person gambling activities and for gambling activities offered by remote means. That is the part of it I am worried about. I do not know how that can be controlled, but it should be controlled. It is ridiculous to think that people can bet away until a late hour at night, maybe after they have had a few drinks. If they were working during the day, they may not have the time to do that.

I welcome the section of the Bill that continues to provide for exemptions from the requirement to hold a gambling licence for certain small-stake lotteries, such as those that help charities. Many GAA clubs run a weekly lotto. When I was in Gneeveguilla last night, I saw a group from the committee running off its lotto. They put work into that to provide funding for the necessary activities in their great club. That has been replicated right around Kerry in all the small clubs which do not get the necessary funding. It is the only way. They work hard at it and an awful lot of work goes into it. It is just €2 to buy a ticket. They collect a lot of money, and more power to them. We must allow that to continue.

In the time I have left, I will say that on the ground the grim reality in Ireland is that problem gambling is growing every year. How do we tackle that? A body such as the HSE should have enough funding available to help people who have developed a gambling addiction to be treated. It should talk to them, try to come around to them and do whatever is necessary. A health research report into problem gambling in Ireland has highlighted the lack of specific services for gambling addiction being provided by the HSE.

These data show the need for dedicated treatment provision for those with gambling problems.

Unfortunately, this legislation does nothing to address the chronic lack of addiction support services. In addition, education is needed and awareness must be raised on a national scale, especially with teenagers in our schools, to counter the proliferation and normalisation of gambling here. The report found the most common type of gambling was buying a lottery ticket. I do not think that buying a lottery ticket is a problem. It is like everything in that it is fine if it is done in moderation but if it is done on a continuous basis, it is not fine.

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae

I start by remembering the words of Michael O'Connor from Muckross in Killarney, a late friend of mine who only died in recent times in the year of his 108th birthday. I would meet him very regularly. He was driving his car until he was 104, living on his own and taking care of himself. He was a great man. His philosophy in life was that everything is fine in moderation, whether it is alcohol or any of the other things a person wants to do in life. Everything is fine in moderation.

Let it be quite clear there is nothing in the world wrong with gambling. There is nothing in the world wrong with the people who own, run or have gainful employment in bookie shops or the people who leave their place of work of an evening and go to have a little bet in a bookie house, or to have a drink and put a bet of a little bit of money at the same time. There is nothing in the world wrong with it, if they remember Michael O'Connor and do it in moderation. That is the moral not just of this but of everything else.

That is why I welcome the legislation. I consider it the Government's answer to try to help ensure people who are not exercising moderation are protected and helped and their families are secured and to protect them from themselves if they are not able to exercise moderation. We also have to be very careful not to demonise this industry. I call it an industry because I thank and compliment the great people where I come from in County Kerry such as the company that runs the Killarney Races and our racing festivals. The festivals are on in May, June, July, August and into September. It is the same in Listowel and we have the Glenbeigh Races. I thank all of the people who work at them. The gambling element is very important. It is only a flutter. It might be a person putting on what they can afford. That could be a few pence or euro, or it could be multiples of that if they are able to. However, a person should only be gambling and betting what they can afford to lose because there is no such thing as a bookie on a bicycle. The bookie wins far more often than not. The new advent when it comes to gambling, unfortunately, is people betting online. They are sitting at home or maybe in other places and going on their phones. They have a credit card and their phones which is a very dangerous combination.

Very good friends of mine, Timmy and Cathy O'Leary, from Cahir ran a bookies shop in Kenmare for decades. Of course, they were able to exercise prudence with their customers and ensure they were for the protection of their customers. Yes, they had their own people who used to come to have a flutter with them but they ran what I would call a respectable bookie office. These were real bookies. They were people who would encourage a person not to put on a bet if they thought they were a little bit under the weather or not in form for betting. They would be out for their customers' best interest in a very genuine way because they did not want people to part with money foolishly.

Unfortunately, the phone is no Timmy O'Leary. It is a different device which has no monitor or filter. The credit card will back up what the person is willing to place which could be a bet on two horses out in Kentucky in the United States of America at 3.30 a.m. when a he or she might be a little bit intoxicated and might be betting what he or she had in wages or money into the house that week. Of course, we have to be protective of that and try to ensure we protect people from themselves while, at the same time, not demonising the industry because it is the same as the publicans. The finest people we had in Ireland were the people who sold drink in public houses because they did so in moderation. They minded their customers and were careful of them. The closure of pubs and what I call the downturn in that way of life means there are no more measures. People are drinking at home and it is not measured in the way it was measured by the publicans. It is the same thing with the bookie office. If individuals know their customers, it is much better than the phone. I am certainly not a fan of online betting and ways it can be regulated or monitored with all the protections put in place to mind people is very important.

Deputy James Lawless

I welcome the progression of this legislation through to Second Stage. It is great to see it coming along before the end of this term. I take a moment to commend the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, for his determination and diligence in stewarding this Bill to the stage of publication and Second Stage. I know he has made it his priority since he took up office and I salute him on that. As Chair of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, I was very happy to work with him on it. We have engaged and published a report with a number of recommendations which I will speak on in a moment. It is a good example of the legislative process working well. We have gone full cycle, done due diligence and the Bill has been improved as a result.

With regard to the Bill and the whole are of gambling, several speakers have mentioned the issue of online gambling and phone gambling. I think it was the Minister of State who said we all have a casino in our pocket now should we wish to check in to it. It is yet another example of technology outstripping legislation and how it has vastly outstripped legislative change and policy making. This is brought to life by the fact that even though legislation was enacted in 2019, which is only three years ago, even that legislation is massively out of date. If one looks at the definition of online lotteries, gaming and activity, it is very unclear and uncertain as to what exactly are the legislative provisions. That remains the case for legislation only passed three years ago.

It is very important we dot and progress legislation and bring it up to date. Many of the operators who engage in the Irish jurisdiction are headquartered or operate from jurisdictions abroad. I may be doing them a disservice but I think some of the smaller EU states often play host to gambling companies because they are licensed and legislated to provide the services from there. That means they are effectively passporting into Ireland or providing services here while being, to some extent, outside the reach of our own domestic laws which, of course, is never a great idea. This is overdue and, indeed, very welcome.

The spectrum of gambling activities, as has been mentioned by a few speakers already, is very broad and includes GAA clubs. I heard Deputy Healy-Rae talk about his local GAA club. I have often sat at a draw in Sallins or Clane GAA club or other GAA clubs and watched them pick balls from a tombola. I have never actually won the draw but I have often tried. I know that it goes from small local community organisations right through to the other end of the spectrum of multimillion and probably billion euro enterprises that operate at significant scale across many jurisdictions. It is about trying to get a one-size-fits-all approach to those. Trying to get a staggered approach that captures all of them is very challenging and difficult.

I have to agree with other speakers who made the distinction between those large offline and online providers and the ordinary rural or urban local bookmaker. I do not necessarily agree with a comment made by one of the speakers that one never sees a poor bookmaker. They are not all minted or made of money. I know some of them lay the bets off to other exchanges but they can go bust very quickly as well, especially the smaller individuals. It can be a difficult and quite stressful life. I am talking about the small, family-run businesses that at one time, certainly, were on the street of every local village and town. I know many enjoy a game of chance, whether it is a bet on a horse race or a sporting event.

There are many people, particularly older gentlemen, who will bet 50 cent or €1 at a time and have great enjoyment from an afternoon at the bookmaker in which they spend no more than €3. The engagement, chat and chance to socialise is as much part of the experience as the bet itself. I have seen that happen. It is important that be recognised as a social or enjoyable activity. It can also go wrong. I have, sadly, seen situations where people who were normal, decent, hardworking, upstanding individuals had a secret vice that was unknown to others at the time and became apparent. Some of those cases have ended in tragedy, including careers being derailed, families being upended, houses being repossessed and people ending up in custody. There are draconian consequences but sometimes they only emerge at the far end of an engagement, when this might have been going on in the background, unknown to anyone observing the person.

I will briefly revisit the committee engagement. I mentioned how technology has far outstripped the pace of legislative change relating to social media, technology and data industries. One figure that stood out was when a company revealed that it has up to 200 different data points on every individual who uses its services. When people place a bet online, the company has a sophisticated matrix that can be used to pinpoint information from the obvious matters such as what day a person is paid on to less obvious ones such as people's interests, cultural likes and what movies they like to watch. It is a variety of data that the company can use to target advertisements at people on the day they are paid, in a format they might like, in a manner, such as through comedy, which the company knows will work best to attract the attention of that individual and entice that person to place a bet.

A scandal such as the one with Cambridge Analytica is waiting to happen. We have seen this happen in politics and we are on the cusp of it happening with gambling. Perhaps it is already happening daily online on everybody's phone and we are oblivious to it. I welcome the provisions. There are significant moves to curb online and social media advertising in the Bill. I understand that somebody has to proactively select to follow a particular betting company to receive its promotion, otherwise they will not appear in that person's feed. That is progressive and welcome.

I mentioned what the Minister of State has done. I know he has taken on board many points made at the committee, especially watershed advertising. I thank him for that. It is an example of the process being done well.

On a miscellaneous note, bingo has been raised with me as something that is perhaps not covered by the Bill. There may be a lacuna. Pre-Covid, many constituents boarded buses and went to bingo all around the country. I am not sure where that stands. Is there a grey area in this Bill? I am not sure. Perhaps the Minister of State could respond about that at the end of the debate. I thank the Minister of State for his diligence and determination in driving this Bill forward. I was glad to have the opportunity to engage through the committee process. It is good legislation and I commend it to the House.

Deputy Chris Andrews

Legislation to regulate gambling is long overdue and is very welcome. It is to the credit of the Minister of State and Government that it is being introduced now. Successive Governments fail to act on it every year. It is welcome and commendable that the legislation is in the Dáil now. I commend the Minister of State. As a society, we often fail to address and to see gambling for the cancer that it is for many people. We often view gambling as harmless fun, including accumulators and bets when people go to the races. It is a social thing, but it is dangerous for many people. In sport, betting companies are often viewed as vital sponsorship for clubs. The GAA has led by example with its socially responsible approach to gambling. In 2018, the GAA voted for an outright ban on gambling sponsorship. Since then, it has developed awareness campaigns about gambling aimed at its members and players. Within the FAI, more and more League of Ireland clubs refuse to take gambling companies as sponsors. I know that the club in Drogheda has turned down gambling companies. This is welcome. The days of jersey sponsorship by betting companies should be in the past. I welcome the legislation to finally bring about a ban on these sponsorships in sport.

The Gambling Awareness Trust indicates that approximately 55,000 people in the State have serious gambling disorders. We have the highest online gambling losses per capita in the world. As was shown before, we cannot depend on the industry to regulate itself. It just will not happen. That is the brutal reality. As the previous speaker said, technology outstrips legislation and leaves it ineffective. The Government must lead with strong, robust legislation, with the power to regulate advertising, gambling websites and applications. There should be a complete ban on advertising. While the watershed is a step forward, it does not go far enough. We need to ensure there is a complete ban because the advertising some of the companies do is brilliant. It sucks people in and is a huge source of attraction to gambling for people. It is a hook and a gateway to gambling. There should be a complete ban on that type of advertising.

Deputy Thomas Pringle

I thank the Minister of State for the opportunity to contribute to the debate on this important legislation. Despite the fact that this legislation is important and lengthy, the Government has decided, yet again, to publish it at the last minute. The general scheme was published more than a year ago and the Joint Committee on Justice, which I am a member of, launched its pre-legislative scrutiny report in May. The Government has no excuse for only publishing the final Bill, which is 170 pages long, in the past few days. I highlight that when legislation is published late, it not only affects Opposition scrutiny, but also scrutiny from outside organisations. We are missing important input from NGOs into how the legislation will affect those it is aimed at. Maybe that is what it is all about, unfortunately.

We are in the jaws of Christmas again. With the legislation being published now, I hope it will not be rushed through the House and finished before the end of next week, but it probably will be because that is what the Government is doing. The Minister of State is nodding to indicate that it will not be. Hopefully, that is the case. It is important to do justice to the legislation and for the Minister of State to do justice to himself and to allow Members to have an input into the legislation. Unfortunately, we have seen that the two weeks in the Christmas period and in July have been the peak time for legislation to come before the House and to be rushed through. I hope that is not the case and that time will be given for this legislation to be considered. It is significant, important legislation. It needs to be scrutinised.

I welcome the establishment of an independent gambling regulatory authority. The regulatory framework covering gambling activities is outdated and needs significant reform. The interdepartmental working group on future licensing and regulation of gambling rightly outlined that the existing framework is insufficient. It does not provide a regulated approach to all gambling activities and it does not adequately protect vulnerable persons such as minors.

The 2019 results of the European school survey project on alcohol and other drugs are concerning, since Irish respondents aged 15 and 16 reported higher rates of gambling, slot machine use, sports and animal betting, and participation in lotteries than their counterparts in 34 European states. Those are worrying results. The survey results suggest that existing safeguards are insufficient as minors are still finding ways to bet on sporting events.

The existing regulatory framework does not adequately address its application to online gambling, which has increased significantly in recent years and is one of the most harmful forms of gambling. A 2015 qualitative study conducted in Ireland found that of all gambling forms, the online environment was perceived by family and friends of recovering gamblers as being a gateway to hidden gambling that could involve multiple credit cards and gambling accounts. Smartphones are particularly convenient. They provide an opportunity to engage in gambling in any setting and can be used to hide excessive gambling. I could have sat here gambling while listening to the debate. Mobile phones and online gambling mean that gambling can be done anywhere at any time. That is worrying and difficult to manage. This legislation has a difficult task in policing that.

Online gambling can be especially prevalent in rural areas such as in my constituency in County Donegal where there is limited access to bookmakers. Years ago, people would come to the bookies on a Saturday and it would be a day out. There was some form of regulation and control of that but now with online gambling there is no regulation. Nobody needs to live anywhere near a bookies to engage in unlimited gambling. That is a problem that must be carefully examined and addressed. There is limited regulation of the licensing of remote betting operators for online gambling services. For online gaming services there is no licensing pathway available and no regulatory oversight of that sector either. I welcome that the Bill will address this significant gap and that it provides for safeguards and protections on problem gambling and for the protection of children to ensure public safety and well-being, and consumer protection.

I welcome also the establishment of the social impact fund for the purposes of financing research and information, education and awareness-raising measures and appropriately supporting problem gambling treatment activities by relevant health professionals. Research in this area has been lacking and it is important we are aware of the extent of the problem by funding the appropriate research, as well as adequately funding awareness campaigns in order that people fully understand the detrimental effects of gambling. Most importantly, it is essential those experiencing these effects are given the help they need as well. I am glad that following the justice committee's pre-legislative scrutiny, section 141 provides for a watershed prohibiting the broadcast of gambling advertising on television and radio between the hours of 5:30 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. In addition, section 139 prohibits advertising that portrays gambling as attractive to children, advertising that condones children participating in gambling and advertising that encourages or seeks to exhort a child to gamble.

I also welcome that section 157 provides for an explicit ban on the use of credit cards as a means of payment for gambling and that the legislation goes further and also prohibits the use of electronic payment methods funded by credit cards and the offer of credit card facilities to players as well. However, I am disappointed a provision to allow background checks to be carried out on applicants when they register for an online gambling website to ascertain whether they have any financial vulnerabilities and that a provision for operators to be liable where they know gamblers are making losses beyond their means have not been included. That is necessary because the only way gambling companies will behave responsibly is if they are penalised for ignoring the law or putting vulnerable people in a situation they cannot get out of.

I am also concerned section 44, which addresses a national gambling exclusion register, only allows people to self-exclude from operators they already hold an account with. That seems pointless and should be extended going forward. I am not exactly sure how that would be done but it should be done and must be looked at. If someone already has an account with a company and he or she is a problem gambler, that is not the problem. If I am a problem gambler and a gambling company stops me from doing something, I will just open an account with somebody else. That is the reality.

People pay a high price when it comes to gambling. It was reported Irish gamblers lost approximately €1.36 billion in 2020. This amounts to approximately €300 per adult and makes the Irish the fourth-highest gamblers in the EU. In 2017, The Economist indicated Ireland ranked third worldwide in 2016 for average gambling losses per adult resident. That shows we have a major problem around gambling and gambling control. If €300 is gambled per adult then my €300 is divided around everybody else and that is true for many other people and, therefore, a lot of people are losing an awful lot of money. That is why, unfortunately, we have gambling companies set up here. Some of the biggest companies in the world are based here and some are from here too.

I welcome the introduction of this Bill. It is needed because we must control this. I welcome a new regulatory framework to address the many issues I have detailed. We must do more as well and that should be teased out and looked at during the progress of the legislation.

Deputy Joe Carey

I welcome the Bill. It has been a long time in drafting. I commend the Minister of State and his officials on their work on the Bill. I also give due credit to the Minister of State's predecessor, Deputy Stanton, for his work.

This sector has seen many dramatic changes since the Betting Act 1931 and the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956. Most people would consider the greatest such change has been the introduction of online betting and gambling with the use of the mobile phone. Nearly all the betting and gambling carried out in those earlier times were cash transactions. Few people had an account or were able to conduct business over the phone. Times have changed and there is very much a need for this legislation to bring our gambling regulation into the 21st century. Gambling can take many forms, including the traditional bet on a dog or greyhound. There is a range of sports betting on everything from golf to tennis to elections and politics. Those normally have a human or performance feat, and then we have another world involving cards, lucky numbers or machine-generated numbers or symbols.

The main provision of the Bill is to set up a gambling regulatory authority that will provide a proper and effective licensing system to provide a safe regulation of gambling activities in Ireland. The Bill introduces safeguards to address problem gambling. The main concern of the Bill is those who are prepared to lose more than they have, often through addiction or economic pressure, by ensuring gambling is conducted in a fair and open way by requiring safeguards to address problem gambling and restricting gambling advertising. Other concerns addressed include preventing children being induced through advertising and promotion and other methods into the gambling world.

While gambling activity is enjoyed safely and responsibly by the vast majority of people in Ireland, we are all aware of the ill-effects of problem gambling for individuals, their families and society as a whole. This is why the creation of a social impact fund, as provided for in the legislation, is good for society. I understand this fund will finance research and information to support public education and awareness-raising measures related to problem gambling and to support problem treatment activities by suitably-qualified health professionals.

Another concern I hope is addressed in the Bill is to prevent gambling being a source of funds for or support to crime and money laundering. The Joint Committee on Justice held extensive meetings as part of the pre-legislative scrutiny of this Bill, with many of the stakeholders and interest groups, before issuing a comprehensive report that included 16 major recommendations on provisions to be included. I wish to know whether all these recommendations have been included to examine the feasibility of the pre-legislative scrutiny process. These recommendations included the possibility of blocking gambling operators that are not licensed in the State, further restrictions on gambling advertising, the possible prohibition of gambling and gaming with credit cards, more advanced verification checks on a customer's age, the siting of multiple gambling outlets in predominantly disadvantaged communities be discouraged and gambling operators being made liable to dependants and creditors of gamblers where they know or ought to know the gambler is making losses beyond their means.

There was also an issue there around decoupling sports and gambling advertising. It is a tricky area, especially if we look at horse racing. Last weekend, there was a good horse racing meeting in Fairyhouse with three grade 1 races. The main sponsor there was a betting company. I do not know how we are going to break the link between a company supporting that particular racecard. It was on RTÉ 1 television. I encourage the Minister of State to look at that in a practical way.

I also thank the Joint Committee on Justice for its considered work on this Bill. I understand the new regulatory authority will be ready to start next year, once this Bill has been passed. I commend this Bill to the House and thank the Minister of State for his dedicated work in bringing it before the House.

Deputy Patricia Ryan

We in Sinn Féin welcome the Bill and will support its passage to Committee Stage, where we will table amendments to its deficiencies. It is a comprehensive Bill dealing with the regulation of gambling. It is an important step but it must be accompanied by funding for addiction services, awareness campaigns and supports that are free of industry influence. In April this year, several Government Deputies and Senators attended a corporate hospitality event at Punchestown Racecourse, at which the Irish Bookmakers Association paid for three tables. At the same time, the legislation was being prepared. The Government needs to clean up its act and move away from the cosy relationship it has with vested interests.

We in Sinn Féin support regulation and acknowledge its importance to prevent the involvement of organised crime. The Bill provides for the new gambling regulatory and makes other welcome changes in the law around gambling. Gambling addiction damages the lives of far too many people across Ireland every day. Thus far, successive Governments have failed in their duty to protect people who experience gambling addiction and failed to support those who seek help. Current legislation is decades out of date and has failed to keep pace with the online world. As a result, our young people in particular are exposed to predatory forms of online advertising and gambling, which should be regulated. Those in recovery and our young people are suffering because of a lack of action. They are bombarded with gambling advertising on social media during sports matches and while watching television. I was shocked to learn that young people can sign up to online gambling without any age verification for up to 72 hours. It is no wonder we have some of the highest problem gambling rates among 15- to 16-year-olds in Europe.

Modernisation of the law on gambling is long overdue. It must be made fit for purpose to tackle problem gambling. The issue of gambling addiction must get the attention it deserves. I truly hope this Bill fares better than the first gambling control Bill, the general scheme of which was published in 2013 and has been gathering dust ever since. There are approximately 55,000 people in this State engaging in gambling in a harmful way and there are countless others indirectly impacted. Gambling harm has a catastrophic effect on individual families and communities. In recognising this, we must finally regulate the sector in a way that protects those vulnerable people. The fact that a CEO for the commission has been hired is a good sign of intent. I wish Ms Caulfield the very best in her role.

Deputy Mark Ward

Problem gambling is a big issue in Ireland and in my community. When I was growing up, my area was an area of disadvantage. It did not have any community infrastructure whatsoever. One of the first things that went into it was a pub and the next thing was a bookies, which squeezed the life and the money out of my community. These things need to be looked at.

I have worked in addiction services across Dublin over the years. In my time, I have worked closely with problematic gamblers. A person who is addicted to drugs or alcohol can only consume so much of it before they pass out but a gambler can keep gambling if they have the means to keep gambling or the ability to obtain the means to keep gambling. Many families have been destroyed financially and emotionally by problematic gambling. There is many a person in prison because of crimes committed to secure the means to keep gambling.

In my time, I have found that compulsive gamblers have an uncontrollable urge to keep gambling despite the toll it takes on their lives. Science has proven that gambling can stimulate the brain's reward system much like drugs or alcohol can, leading to addiction. If someone has a problem with compulsive gambling, they may continually chase bets that lead to losses, use up savings and create debt. They may hide their behaviour and even turn to theft or fraud to support their addiction.

Online gambling companies have also used this science. A near win can stimulate the same reaction in the brain as a win can. Big gambling companies have designed their online betting systems to stimulate the brain by using this "near miss" science. It effectively keeps people gambling longer. In the Twenty-six Counties, we have the highest online gambling losses in the world per head and the third highest gambling losses overall per head. This is a serious problem. There is no proper funding for treatment for problem gamblers, which I hope will be addressed by the social impact fund provided for in the Bill.

I commend the work carried out by volunteer organisations such as Gamblers Anonymous in helping their peers, and for the vital work they do by going into our prisons and talking to people who are incarcerated just because of their gambling addiction. Community organisations like the ones I used to work in need funding and supports. My colleague, Deputy Thomas Gould, has introduced a Bill to ban online gambling using a credit card and has developed a 26-county gambling strategy, which includes a strong regulator. While we welcome this Bill, it must be accompanied by funding for addiction services, awareness campaigns and supports that are free from industry influence. We support a regulated trade and acknowledge its importance in preventing the involvement of organised crime. At the same time, that regulation must be robust.

This year, the Government funded Horse Racing Ireland to the tune of €71 million, a large proportion of which could be used as prize money for horse racing. Most of this prize money is shared among a select few of the top horse trainers and owners. It beggars belief that this money is not used for vital community facilities. In my area, we are lucky to have the Clondalkin Equine Club. It is a centre of excellence for children to practise proper urban horsemanship. Last year, the club nearly folded because of a lack of funding. Only last-minute private funding kept it afloat this year. I attended the club’s AGM only last week, where we were told the club could be in the same position again this year. Of the €71 million the Government gives HRI, this club would only require €130,000 to keep it operating at its full potential. The Government funding HRI receives must be reviewed so the money can also go to the community, and not just in prize money. I ask the Minister of State to clarify if the social impact fund provided for in this Bill will be open for community groups like the Clondalkin Equine Club to avail of.

Deputy Martin Browne

I welcome any Bill that attempts to address the damaging effects of gambling. There are too many families suffering because of the effect gambling has had on a family member, and by extension, the family itself. A lot of work is carried out under the radar in communities across the country. A centre in County Tipperary recently secured funding to help those with gambling addiction, namely, the Spafield Family Resource Centre in Cashel, where a launch took place a couple of months ago. The services will also be accessible in the Millennium Family Resource Centre in Thurles and the Silver Arch Family Resource Centre in Nenagh.

We have to be aware of how we are constantly bombarded with gambling advertising. Whether we want to admit it, those advertisements target the weak spots in a person who may be prone to addiction to gambling. It has to be admitted that addiction is involved here. While addiction may have connections with mental health issues, it must also be recognised as requiring specialised support in itself. The social impact fund provided for in the Bill must address the overall shortfall in proper funding of treatment for problem gamblers. The nature of addiction is that it re-emerges given the opportunity and can be hard to resist. We must have adequate funding available for addiction services. Otherwise, people will face constant battles against gambling addictions throughout their lives.

That brings me to the prevalence of gambling advertising and access to gambling. The truth of it is that if I want to gamble, all I have to do is pick up my phone. If I have particular apps downloaded then all I need do is tap and the process of bleeding me dry will begin. That is how it can be for many people. Attention should be given to how so many of these apps are designed. It is becoming a known fact that considerable effort is put into the design of these apps, in terms of both the visuals and the interface, to make them more attractive to the user, which also makes it easier to fall down that rabbit hole. This needs addressing. It needs examination, understanding and regulation because it is a sign of an effective technique. I will be interested to see how the gambling regulator addresses this. The technical design of these applications is having an impact that may not be obvious but I understand it is effective.

On the issue of the ease with which people can access gambling opportunities, I note that in addition to the rest of his work on gambling, my colleague, Deputy Gould, has moved a Bill to ban online gambling using a credit card.

I have listened to much of this discussion and it is clear there is a depth of common feeling that cannot be ignored. I hope the Minister of State will take on board the views expressed today because expressing those views and acting on them, where appropriate, is the reason we are all here. Gambling companies cannot think they have done enough by washing their campaigns through the use of public awareness messages. Far more needs to be done. The companies need to shoulder more responsibility and the regulator needs to have the powers and ability to make sure of that. We also need to see more gambling awareness programmes that are free of the industry. Otherwise it will always seem as though there is a potential price to pay for proactive messaging.

I support this Bill but I want to see it funded in a way that tackles the causes of the problem, assists people with addiction and protects them from the gambling promotion that is virtually everywhere we look. The Minister of State will have heard Deputy Michael Healy-Rae spoke about Timmy in the local shop 20 years ago. That is all fine because Timmy or Mary knew when a person was in trouble. However, every one of us can now access gambling 24 hours per day using our phones. This is having a detrimental effect on families. I urge the Government to support Deputy Gould's Bill, even if it only cut off that end of it.

We are coming up to Christmas. As addicts will tell us, it is not even about the winning but just about the thrill of having a bet on. We need to protect families who are caught in that kind of situation. It is so simple. As has been said, these companies spend millions and millions to get the last cent out of someone's pocket. They have no morals or anything else. They do not care about any family or how it will go into Christmas or the new year. We need to tackle them. Tommy and Mary in the betting shop years ago had some bit of understanding of who was in their locality but the big multinationals are in every corner of the world. It is not even about betting to win any more. People can bet on losing a game or, as Deputy Ward said, they can decide to change their bet halfway through a game. The companies need to be tackled as soon as possible.

Minister of State at the Department of Justice (Deputy James Browne)

I thank the Deputies and convey to the House my appreciation for its assistance in facilitating the progression of the Gambling Regulation Bill 2022 to this very important Second Stage. I thank everyone for their contributions and support for this important step as we embark on the significant work ahead of us over the coming Stages. Today's debate has afforded us all an opportunity to consider the legislation and matters that require further consideration or reflection as the Bill progresses. It was important to get Second Stage done before Christmas in order that we have time to reflect over Christmas on the contributions from the various Deputies and NGOs that have a view on the legislation. The Bill will not go further than Second Stage before Christmas so Deputies will have time to consider the legislation. This is a hugely important and large Bill and we want to ensure we get it right. We will, therefore, take into consideration all of the proposals from Deputies.

There is very much a consensus in the House on the detrimental effects of gambling addiction and what it does to families. As many Deputies pointed out, it has hidden aspects. If someone has an alcohol or drug addiction, the family can see the person's descent and can try to intervene at an early stage. Very often when someone has a gambling addiction the first the family and loved ones know about it is when the sheriff or Garda is at the door or, God forbid, something even worse has happened. Many people who have lived exemplary lives go off and do stupid things to feed this very serious addiction.

The common and important themes to emerge were around the areas of advertising and sponsorship and the impact they have on young people and all age groups. The general call on us was to see if we can go even further. We have sought to strike a balance between limiting sponsorship and advertising insofar as possible without going as far as a full ban. There are concerns that such a ban would lack balance and could have unintended consequences, including perhaps driving gambling underground. I agree with Deputy Gould that the board will have to reflect and have the input of lived experience and cannot consist only of corporate representatives. When we are drafting the terms of reference for the board and inviting people to apply to join it, we will provide that this will be done through the Public Appointments System and the board will have to include a broad range of representation.

A number of Deputies called for an extension of the social impact fund beyond the areas currently set, namely, research, treatment, awareness and education. Deputy Ward mentioned the Clondalkin Equine Club in that regard. We will certainly consider that possibility but we do not want to risk the social impact fund becoming too diluted. Its primary aim is to tackle gambling addiction but we can certainly consider the various aspects raised. The issues around lack of data and research in this country are very clear and we also need further treatment and education. The levy we put in place to fund the social impact fund will help to tackle some of the serious issues out there.

Ireland has waited a very long time for this legislation and efforts have been made several times in recent decades to bring forward a new system of regulation for gambling activities and gambling-related services in this country, but to no avail. It is important that we finally have a Bill with real momentum behind it. I recognise that in every contribution today Deputies sought to get the best Bill we can enacted.

The primary objective of the Bill is to present a framework for a robust regulatory and licensing regime for the gambling sector in Ireland. It provides for the establishment and statutory functions of a body to be known as údarás rialála cearrbhachais na hÉireann or the gambling regulatory authority of Ireland. The authority will be responsible for licensing and regulating gambling to include betting, gaming, certain lotteries; the sale or supply of products or services related to gambling; the imposition of obligations on licensees and other persons, including obligations relating to advertising, promotion and sponsorship for the purposes of safeguarding persons participating in gambling; monitoring and enforcing compliance with obligations imposed on licensees; the prohibition of children participating in gambling or being employed in the gambling industry; the establishment of a national gambling exclusion register; the establishment of a social impact fund; and the funding of the authority by means of the imposition of a charge on licensees.

As mentioned earlier, I am hopeful that with the support of both Houses, this Bill will be signed into law and enter into force by mid-2023, with the intention of establishing the authority later next year. The Bill addresses legislative requirements to bring about a comprehensive and necessary form of regulatory and licensing regime for gambling. The co-operation of the House's is much appreciated and I look forward to working with my colleagues over the coming months.

An Ceann Comhairle

I thank everyone who has worked on this Bill because there seems to be an unusual outbreak of unanimity.

Question put and agreed to.