Irish Examiner view: Proposed new gambling legislation is welcome

The scale of the problem, as highlighted in the ESRI report, is compounded by the way online gambling platforms relentlessly target younger and more vulnerable people 

The ESRI's data suggests the number of people in Ireland affected by problem gambling is far greater than had been estimated. 

Thursday’s front-page headline outlined the sheer scope of the gambling problem in Ireland, and it is correct to say it is a problem. The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) report published this week says there are 10 times more problem gamblers in this country than previously thought, a figure the ESRI says has “serious implications for understanding the role that gambling plays in Irish life”.

In terms of raw numbers, it means a stunning 130,000 people are problem gamblers in Ireland.