The Gambling Regulation Bill is set to be enacted imminently after it passed through committee stage in the Seanad on Wednesday evening with report stage debates scheduled for next Tuesday before it is signed into law by the president.
The bill, which legislates for a daytime gambling advertising watershed between 5.30am and 9pm, completed all five stages in the Dail (lower house) this year and had been at committee stage in the Seanad (upper house) since May 14 before its completion.
It was revealed earlier this week that Sky Sports Racing has seemingly put measures in place to cope with the impending gambling advertising ban by investing in a separate feed for Irish viewers which will be introduced shortly. It will air an identical broadcasting stream to other regions but with a separate advertising feed.
Racing TV have the exclusive rights to show pictures from all 26 of Ireland’s racecourses until 2029, but has stated previously that such a ban would render its broadcasting in Ireland as “economically unviable”.
The main feature of Wednesday’s debate was a tense exchange between minister of state at the department of justice James Browne, who is responsible for curating the bill, and senator Michael McDowell, who is also a former minister for justice and attorney general.
James Browne: responsible for curating the bill
The debate centred around proposed amendments which would prohibit licensees from offering customers inducements entirely.
Browne said: “The government’s policy intention through section 152 is to prevent targeted and individualised incentives to encourage people to gamble but to permit, in a regulated manner, offers that are open to everyone. In summary, we are prohibiting targeted and individualised activities to incentivise people to gamble, such as VIP treatment and special odds.”
McDowell labelled it “disgraceful” that “it is an aim of the Irish government, in law, to allow people to offer inducements to other people to gamble” and called for an outright ban on inducements.
The bill passed committee stage debate with a vote of 17 in favour and five against.
Read more on the Gambling Regulation Bill here:
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