Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 February 2021
214. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Finance the way in which betting duty is used to combat the social costs of problem gambling as outlined as a purpose of the duty in his Department's general excise paper 2019, given that no Department has specific funding for combatting problem gambling. [10307/21]
View answerThe purpose of betting duty is to raise revenues for the State and to account for the negative internalities and externalities generated from betting activities – that is the social costs of problem gambling. There is no direct hypothecation of betting duty to particular causes. Rather, revenues raised from betting duty go directly to the Exchequer and are then partly used to fund the Health, Justice and Welfare systems which bear the costs of problem gambling. The existence of betting duty also has an ancillary role in raising awareness of the risks of problem gambling.
