Gambling addiction services in receipt of money from the betting industry will not be eligible for state funding, according to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

In a letter written on February 9 to Alcohol Forum Ireland, Varadkar said that any addiction service in the country that received money from the gambling industry will not be eligible for new HSE pilot projects.

The department of health has allocated €1 million in funding between 2023 and 2024 to run gambling addiction help pilots across four community healthcare organisations.

Four bodies were chosen last year, and the services are set to expand this year.

In his letter Varadkar said “the HSE has stipulated that organisations in receipt of funding from the gambling industry would not be co-funded under the pilot