Applications open as Government seeks new gambling regulator
The new gambling regulator will have powers over licencing, advertising, and sponsorship. File Picture.
Applications have opened for the long-awaited position of gambling regulator.
The junior justice minister James Browne has announced that a chief executive is being sought for the Gambling Regulatory Authority, which is to be established under the new Gambling Regulation Act and will operate as an independent regulator under the aegis of the Department of Justice.
A statement from Mr Browne said that the authority will "regulate gambling, gaming, and lottery services by both the commercial and non-commercial providers of such services, including their advertising, in order to achieve a high degree of compliance with the act".
The general scheme of the bill was published last year and it is envisaged that it will include spending limits, requirements for stronger age verification for mobile gambling, and a prohibition on promotions aimed at luring customers back to gambling, including bans on free bets.
Speaking about the opening of applications for the role of regulator, Mr Browne said that the authority will be staffed with up to 100 people.
He told the in 2020 that the regulator will be paid for by the industry eventually, but the Government will back it with between €8m and €12m in the first few years.
“The gambling regulator will have the powers to hold the gambling industry responsible for their actions," he said.
“He or she will effectively be a CEO with a staff of up to 100 employees — a range of experts who will be public servants rather than civil servants. I look forward to the appointment of the regulator in the coming months.”
A recent landmark report said that there are an estimated 12,000 adults in Ireland who are problem gamblers and a further 125,000 people considered to be “at-risk” gamblers in Ireland.
The report from the Health Research Board (HRB) said at-risk and problem gambling “appear to be strongly associated with poorer socioeconomic status” and that people living in deprived areas are those most likely to develop issues with gambling.
Labour's spokesperson on sport, senator Mark Wall, said that this showed the need for a ban on advertisements.
The new gambling regulator will have powers over licencing, advertising, and sponsorship, and will aim to prevent gambling from being a source or support to crime.
It will also have the power, like the regulator in the UK, to issue fines and other sanctions to entities that breach regulations.
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