Gardaí welcome gaming club law

GARDAÍ yesterday welcomed new legislation expanding money-laundering requirements to gaming clubs and businesses dealing in large quantities of cash.

The decision to include casino-like clubs was also welcomed by the Gaming and Leisure Association of Ireland (GALA), the main representative body for clubs operating casino facilities.

Casinos are not allowed under Irish law, but the same facilities operate in private clubs, numbers of which have grown in recent years.

The measures are contained in the Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering) Bill 2008, which transposes the third EU directive on the area.

A Garda source said there was no information to show that any significant level of money-laundering was taking place in the private gaming clubs.

The fact that they are private clubs had hindered gardaí from carrying out any operations in them.

He said the business here was small-scale compared with other European countries.