There has been strong criticism over the appointment of Ireland’s first gambling regulator after the Government awarded the role to a civil servant, rather than a betting industry expert.
Despite a global search to encourage the best international talent to apply for the role, the Department of Justice has announced the appointment of Anne Marie Caulfield as chief executive officer designate of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland.
Caulfield is a former director of the Residential Tenancies Board and has no prior experience of the gambling and gaming industries — she is a former principal officer within the civil service.
Minister of State James Browne had previously said his preference would be for the appointee to be someone with a breadth of experience within the betting sector, perhaps even someone from a territory which had enforced regulation successfully.
Paddy Power co-founder and ‘Stop Gambling Harm’ advocate Stewart Kenny claimed that the appointment was a “box-ticking exercise” by James Browne.
“It’s disappointing,” Kenny told the .
“I’m sure the appointee is a wonderful civil servant and she is very committed, but with no industry experience or international expertise she lacks the very technical skills required for this job.”
Kenny said it was essential that the regulator should have knowledge of how the gambling industry works, particularly around how it lures young gamblers into its online casino platforms.
“This where the main problem is, in the highly addictive online casino products where young people go online to put a bet on Liverpool or Manchester United or Leinster and are then lured into the casino.
“You need industry expertise on how this works and how the betting companies speed up the process of betting to get gamblers to these platforms.”
Kenny said that both he and Fintan Drury had tried to meet Browne in the lead-up to the preparation of the Department’s original draft of the Gambling Regulation bill, to advise on what needed to be contained within it, but were refused.
“James Browne refused to meet ‘Stop Gambling Harm’, yet Chris Philip, his equivalent in the UK, met both Fintan Drury and myself. I believe that he had this (appointment of a Regulator) as an ‘I’ll just get this done’ piece of work.”
While Kenny is not against a vibrant betting industry, which can flourish but under safeguarding for all, he said a strong authority is needed to protect the needs of the most vulnerable and problem gamblers.
Barry Grant of Extern Problem Gambling said he agreed with many aspects of what Kenny said regarding technical expertise within the regulatory body but said his “tendancy tends to be towards optimism, particularly when you work with people in crisis, you have to be”.
Grant added: “I hear what Stewart is saying, he is outspoken but does a lot of really good work, and I agree and would hope that the technical expertise comes once they start hiring staff.
“The gambling industry is at the cutting edge of technology and is really good at what they do and you have to have some people who worked at that end of the industry and on that I agree.
“Maybe I’m more hopeful, that it’s not a fait accompli that is destined for failure.”
Caulfield’s appointment comes as legislation is being prepared for publication in the autumn, which is expected to be approved by the houses of the Oireachtas sometime next year.