Ireland’s ancient gambling legislation coupled with a lack of industry regulation is nothing short of a joke - a thread:

Ireland - a country with the third highest gambling losses per capita in the world and approximately 40,000 problem gamblers (0.8% of population) still doesn’t have an independent industry regulator. Despite it being a ‘priority’ of successive governments.

Instead, the industry is regulated only by forces from within the industry itself.

Two main legislative acts cover the industry (both comically outdated)

The Betting Act of 1931 and the Gaming and Lotteries Act of 1956 (which has had minimal amendments made to it last December)

The amended gaming and lotteries act formally sets the minimum betting age to 18 whilst also updating the max stake for gaming machines to €10 and max payout at €750.

Those limits under the 1956 act had been sixpence and 10 shillings respectively until December just gone by

Unlike the UK, Irish gamblers are able to gamble online using credit cards, making it common practice for gambling addicts to max out credit cards when chasing losses.

Varadkar as Taoiseach said in March 2019 the setting up of an independent regulator would take at least 18 months (September 2020). Granted Covid and the GE in Feb put it on the back-burner but in all fairness the UK’s regulator the ‘Gambling Commission’ was set up in 2007.

In 2013 Alan Shatter drafted the Gambling Control Bill, which has in 7 years passed through only 3 of the 5 Dáil stages necessary to see it through to the Seanad, where it would then have to pass through an additional 5 stages.

An absolute failure on behalf of government.

The 1931 and 1956 acts were drawn up in a time when people didn’t have money to put food on the table, never mind gamble.

Ireland today is a far more prosperous place than it was in those days but as times and circumstances change legislation and regulation need to follow suit

Technological advancements have revolutionised the industry in a way nobody could foresee, but that argument will only continue to be used as a copout to justify governmental inaction on the issue. Instead what is needed is not more never ending discourse but the setting up of an

Independent regulator. Problem gambling often leads to copious amounts of debt, depression, anxiety, the breakup of families amongst a host of other horrid circumstances and never has a regulator been more badly needed in this country than now.

How long more are we going to allow an industry which takes in over €1bn/annum in revenue and poses such an absolute danger to a substantial portion of our society to self regulate?

Gambling is fun. Problem gambling isn’t.

Sorry for the rant lads it’s been bad day at the bookies

(I am joking)