Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 December 2018
279. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when the Gaming and Lotteries (Amendment) Bill will be introduced in Dáil Éireann; and if there will be an opportunity for pre-legislative scrutiny, consultation and amendments to be made. [53312/18]
View answerI am pleased to inform the Deputy that the Gaming and Lotteries (Amendment) Bill is currently being drafted by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel.
The amendments proposed in the Bill will be broadly based on those contained in Part 13 of the General Scheme of the Civil Law and Courts (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017, that was approved by Government in July 2017. The Government subsequently decided to proceed with these provisions in a standalone Gaming and Lotteries (Amendment) Bill.
The Gaming and Lotteries (Amendment) Bill is an interim reform measure, pending the bringing forward of comprehensive gambling control legislation. I hope the Bill will be published before the end of the current Oireachtas session or early in the next Session.
The amendments proposed under the Bill address certain deficiencies with regard to the conduct of activities regulated under the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956, and provide for the modernisation of that Act by way of, among other matters, arrangements for the better promotion of lotteries, updating certain stake and prize limits and standardising the minimum gambling age at 18.
It is a function of the Oireachtas Committee on Justice and Equality to make a decision on whether to conduct pre-legislative scrutiny of legislative proposals from Government, prior to the publication of a Bill. However, the Deputy may wish to note that the Committee decided not to carry out such scrutiny on the General Scheme of the Civil Law and Courts (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017, including the aforementioned Part 13 thereof. Nevertheless, as with any other Bill passing through the Oireachtas, Members may seek to introduce their own amendments.
