Spread of gambling - Human cost here may be disastrous

IRELAND is becoming addicted to gambling. So addicted the outgoing Minister for Justice yesterday launched an options paper aimed at regulating gambling in a state where virtually no regulations exist and where the number of slot machines is set to explode.

The sheer scale of the Irish gambling industry has reached the point that bookmaker Paddy Power, having overtaken the banks in value, is now the country’s biggest financial institution.

Arguably, the so-called National Recovery Plan represents the biggest gamble of all. And given this Government’s benevolence towards the international bond holders who gambled on loans to now insolvent Irish banks — money the beleaguered taxpayer will have to fork out — the popular perception is that the administration would be equally benign towards casinos if it were in power.