Junior Minister at the Department of Justice James Browne has told his Fianna Fáil colleagues that it would not be legally sustainable to grant a derogation to Racing TV and Sky Sports Racing, to permit them to be exempt from the provisions of the Gambling Regulation Bill.
The move is likely to inflame tensions among the coalition TDs who have been lobbied heavily by the horse racing industry to grant an exemption from the total ban on gambling ads on television broadcasts in Ireland between 5.30am and 9pm.
Horse Racing Ireland, which has a media rights deal with the two racing channels from 2024 until 2028, has warned it would not be viable to broadcast the channels in Ireland on a separate stream from that which is broadcast in the UK — thus they would effectively be blocked from Irish airwaves.
An internal government briefing note claims that creating a separate feed would cost Racing TV an estimated €2m. Officials argue that, relative to the overall rights fee, “it should be able to develop a separate broadcasting stream for Ireland free from gambling advertising”.
HRI has been lobbying politicians to dis-apply the daytime advertising ban for dedicated subscription-based horse racing channels, and last week representatives met with James Browne and his officials.
But in an email to the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party on Friday, Browne said what HRI was proposing “would in effect give a monopoly on gambling advertising in the State to these two channels”. He pointed out that the rights deal was agreed several months after the Government first proposed the ban.
He added: “This [HRI] proposal clearly gives rise to a number of issues. Firstly, it breaches the principle of the gambling advertising ban. It is completely at odds with the stated will of the cross-party Oireachtas Committee on Justice, and of the Government.
“Secondly, such an exemption for the horse racing industry would also be anti-competitive under current legislation covering broadcasting companies and would also discriminate against other sports. This would not be legally sustainable.”
Browne argued that the legislation does not ban the presence of trackside betting, the use of trackside gambling ads and the sponsorship of jockey’s colours and races by betting companies.
“In short, there is no legal impediment arising from the gambling legislation that in any way inhibits the showing of horse racing, as it is currently broadcast,” he said.
He argued that the harm caused by gambling is “extremely dangerous” and that the “watershed advertising ban is the most appropriate position at present”.
“I am very concerned about intense gambling advertising, and I do not believe the increased association of gambling and sport is healthy for our society,” he said. “This legislation has been spoken about for many years, and I believe it is imperative that Fianna Fáil in government should deliver this Bill.”
A spokesperson for HRI said: “Irish and British racing is scheduled together, and the only providers in the live daily racing broadcast market are both based in the UK, where rules around gambling advertising differ to what is proposed here.
“That means that these channels would have to specifically tailor their broadcast to comply with the proposed legislation and effectively create a second channel to do so.
“Given the relative size of the market in Ireland and the significant costs associated with doing so, both Racing TV and Sky Sports Racing have said such an eventuality would be unviable.
“HRI will continue to engage with the minister and his officials on seeking a solution to the issue.”