How will proposed gambling legislation affect sports punters?

Junior Minister James Browne is leading the charge on how the gambling industry is regulated in Ireland

Tue, 21 Dec, 2021 - 07:00

Ian Mallon

If you hadn’t already heard gambling regulation is coming hard and fast — with sweeping changes across the €7 billion industry.

The Paddy Powers and BoyleSports of this world are rightly fearful of legislation, which will badly damage how it markets and communicates with customers and how it presents itself publicly.

But how will regulation affect the average sports punters — those who love to flutter without any of the addiction or problem issues that have forced such changes to the industry?

According to the Minister of State charged with enforcing new laws by 2023, gambling regulation is good news for the customers.

Junior Minister James Browne said amongst the raft of legislation changes will be clear objectives to protect gamblers’ rights — and all punishable by penalties of up to €20m in fines, or 10% of overall revenues for the betting companies who fail to comply.

In an interview with the Irish Examiner to discuss the major changes ahead of gambling regulation, Browne explains that change is needed as much to deal with problem gamblers, as problem bookies.

Under the current rules, there are no rules — the punter has no rights. For example, if a bookmaker simply doesn’t want to pay you, they don’t have to.

This Wild West approach to betting has never been discussed by the big gambling companies, and that is just one of the reasons why the laws must change.

“There is no law, for example, for betting companies to pay out, no duty to pay you if you win,” explained the Department of Justice junior minister.

“Because gambling for whatever reason operates on old laws (that go back to the 1950s and even the 1930s). So that’s where there must be better protections through consumer rights and that will come in.”

For those who are successful at betting, or those who make a living out of punting, however, consumer rights won’t demand that the industry treats them any differently than it does today.

Professional gamblers, or those who win far more than they lose, will still face the challenges they do today.

“There won’t be a rule or a duty for betting companies to take bets from everyone, except under normal discrimination rules,” said Browne.

“Like any business, if someone doesn’t want to do business with you, and once there’s no discrimination element, then the normal rules apply.”

The changes to the industry also brings in an element that some may not have considered gambling previously, where playing the lottery will be covered by advertising rules under the legislation.

The National Lottery and its famous television and media adverts featuring life-changing opulence and new-found wealth are facing bans, in the same way as Paddy Power ads featuring household names extolling the virtues of Cheltenham or other great sporting events.

“The National Lottery is gambling and scratch card addiction is a real problem,” said Browne.

“Doing the lottery is gambling. Yes the money, or some of the money, goes to worthy causes for positive social aspects and outcomes and projects.

“I believe aspects around advertising and marketing of the Lottery will come under gambling regulation — no question it will come under more scrutiny.

“But doing the Lottery is something that is clearly gambling.”

When the gambling regulatory authority and its CEO are appointed in early 2022, they will determine how far-reaching advertising bans will go, with many in the industry expecting blanket enforcement.

One quirky piece to the voluminous legislation which will be studied with great interest when it is eventually published next year will be betting shops themselves.

According to Browne bookies will likely have to change from their current “in your face” presentation, where gaudy shopfronts and signage are replaced with more demure frontage.

“There is a lot of complexity around advertising in the modern world, online and offline and the high street shops,” he said.

“It is advertising, in what they are doing.

“In the same way as Lottery advertising is on shopfronts and instore with all the branding around that.

“So I think it is something that needs to be done by the (Gambling Regulator) CEO, who will have to figure out what is a proportionate level of restrictions, and how quickly do you bring it in — immediately or is it a step-by-step process?

“It would be very difficult to see those very bright shopfronts remaining intact. A bookies shop years ago was very subtle with a small sign over the door, but now it’s very much in your face and I don’t see those shopfronts staying in.”

While ultimately gambling regulation will mean an end to targeting of punters through advertising — on television and radio, in media and digitally — is there a fear that punters will be squeezed more and more through harsh legislation designed to ultimately outlaw gambling in certain forms?

“I don’t like tobacco and I look forward to the day there is no tobacco, but gambling is different,” he explained.

“I am absolutely determined that whatever measures are put in place they will be to protect people (with gambling addiction), and all of these concerns come ahead of revenue streams (money to the exchequer).

“I know good decent people who lost their jobs, their houses, families breaking up, on a human level it’s horrific, and a huge cost on the state.”

Browne said that instead of trying to push people away from gambling he is rather trying to encourage safer gambling, and is himself a supporter of betting in a safe and entertaining environment.

He mentions a number of times how betting is an enjoyable pursuit, but one which has been let down by betting companies and their irresponsible behaviours.

There is no better examples of the destructive powers of betting companies than that of Tony O’Reilly, or Tony10 to give him his Paddy Power handle, who was driven into ruin and eventually jail through his addiction.

O’Reilly was a post office manager working in Browne’s native home county, Wexford, who built up astronomical debts of €1.75m, even though Paddy Power knew that the money he was trading was far beyond the reach of a post office employee.

The company was also aware that he had placed bets totalling €10m during his spiral into debt, but did nothing to stop it, in fact encouraged such behaviour. Such incidents have determined that Browne has little tolerance for the industry itself and the pre-emptive changes it is enforcing in its attempts to demonstrate greater responsibility.

Under new safer gambling codes to be introduced on January 1, the Irish Bookmakers Association (IBA) and its members will enforce voluntary measures which ban credit card betting and whistle-to-whistle advertising — ads that target punters with changing odds during live broadcast events.

Asked by the Irish Examiner if the IBA was doing enough by imposing its own changes in advance of legislation, the minister said he “would have a lot of criticism” for the failings of the industry.

“They’re not enough, no,” Browne said.

“If it was enough and if it was strictly adhered to there’d be no need for legislation, but (while) I do welcome it, it is very late in the day and it’s nowhere near enough.

“That’s why legislation is coming. I would like to encourage even more of it (industry changes), and while you always welcome that the organisation is pre-empting legislation, you do question if any of it would be done if there weren’t changes coming in.

“All companies need to step up, I think the gambling companies that are stepping up to the mark are showing an element of responsibility (but) I would like to see this done a long time ago. There is no reason they couldn’t have done it 10 or even 20 years ago, and I would have a lot of criticism for them over that.”

In response to Browne’s comments the IBA said it “has a longstanding record of support for the establishment of a Regulatory Authority in Ireland”.

It added: “We believe that it is in the interests of both consumers and operators that a properly resourced body is established as soon as possible, to regulate this ever changing sector and ensure all operators apply and abide by the highest of standards.

“The industry has been on a journey over many years to develop and enhance our safer gambling practices and our members will continue to identify ways we can improve the effectiveness of these measures, while the legislation is developed.”

The Gambling Regulation Bill is expected to be published in full by next summer and brought before the houses of the Oireachtas to be passed into legislation by 2023.