Ireland’s gambling regulations could finally be updated after years of debate about how to create a regime fit for the challenges of the modern day. Affiliate Leaders evaluates what the proposed changes could mean for the industry.
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Those of you who have been closely monitoring developments in Ireland this week might have seen that the long-delayed Gambling Regulation Bill has made it to the committee stage in the Dáil Éireann.
After what seems like an eternity of mulling over this legislation, the country seems to be edging that bit closer to replacing its outdated Betting Act of 1931, bringing its gambling regulation into the modern age. If passed, the Gambling Regulation Bill 2022 will introduce a new, robust regulatory framework that will cover sports betting, igaming and lotteries across both retail and online.
When the Bill was first introduced in 2022, then-Taoiseach Micheál Martin, a strong supporter of the legislation, commented: “This long awaited and much needed Bill takes a responsible approach to balancing the freedom to gamble with the safeguards to protect people from falling prey to addiction. This Bill provides a clearer framework for operators and for consumers.”
The state of play
This progression to the committee stage may sound positive from the outset – especially since the bill itself has not made any progress in close to two years – but it would be wise to wait with bated breath until the intricacies of the regulation itself are hashed out in the Dáil over the next few weeks.
During the debate on Wednesday, much of the discussion centred around a heated exchange between James Browne, who is responsible for curating the bill and currently serves as Minister of State at the Department of Justice, and Senator Michael McDowell, who is also a former Minister for Justice and Attorney General.
One of the key topics during the debate was a proposed amendment which suggests a pre-watershed ban on broadcast advertising, as well as a ban on bonuses and inducements. For some, however, this isn’t far enough.
McDowell, who has long been a vocal critic of the gambling industry, said: “I wonder why it is necessary to state as a matter of law in this land that it is lawful to offer people inducements to gamble. I have said from the beginning that this legislation is designed to increase gambling.
“What Minister in the Government is saying that they want it to be the law of the land that licensees in gambling can go out, as a general principle, to offer inducements to people to gamble? What common good purpose is served by such a provision? None. It is disgraceful. I said before in this debate that this was a Bill designed to increase and facilitate gambling. Nothing is clearer in that regard than this provision.
“If somebody says to me that the online establishments in Britain offer free bets and this, that and the other, and we want to give our lads a fair basis on which to compete with them, that, too, is disgraceful.”
For Browne, however, the new bill aims to protect players by introducing legislation which would somewhat police how operators are offering inducements – giving bettors the chance to gamble in a safe environment. This, he added, would be accompanied by self-exclusion mechanisms, limits on spending and regular player monitoring to detect problematic behaviour.
Browne said: “The government’s policy intention through section 152 is to prevent targeted and individualised incentives to encourage people to gamble but to permit, in a regulated manner, offers that are open to everyone. In summary, we are prohibiting targeted and individualised activities to incentivise people to gamble, such as VIP treatment and special odds.
“As I have previously stated, I have concerns about adopting an absolute ban on advertising from the outset. Gambling is a lawful and legitimate activity and the bill, as amended by the Dáil, further empowers the authority to be able to react and regulate advertising accordingly.”
The impact
While the debate is still ongoing, the question arises: what does this mean for gambling operators looking to engage with players in the newly-regulated Irish market?
Gambling, and particularly sports betting, has long been woven into Irish culture. You just have to look at the country’s love of horse racing to see that. But with such a ban on gambling advertisements, operators are undoubtedly going to be forced to review how they plan to engage bettors.
Fortunately, much of the Irish population are already familiar with the ‘big brands’ available to them. So the challenge of building brand exposure is perhaps not as significant as it would be in newly-regulated markets.
However, with the introduction of new regulations likely to encourage more operators to enter the market, the competition for market share is no doubt going to heat up. Engagement, and subsequently retention, is going to become a key battleground for both sportsbooks and casinos.
One such strategy might be to tap into the world of affiliates – be it via social media, streamers or the creation of community-building content. We’ve seen similar approaches taken in Ontario, for example, where the provincial government has issued an outright ban on gambling inducements.
Affiliates arguably have a golden opportunity to diversify the content they offer by tapping into the world of multimedia content and social media to create content that appeals to particular sports fans – be it GAA-related content, or video blogs regarding the upcoming horse racing fixtures. By using affiliates to create micro-communities of bettors, operators can drive greater levels of engagement, and fuel long-term retention.
The challenge, however, is that the proposed regulations do not currently address the role of affiliates nor social media. We are still unclear as to whether or not brands will be able to utilise celebrity brand ambassadors, or what the restrictions will be on affiliates – aside from the use of bonus offers, of course.
Concerns have previously been raised by BMC Public Health over the impact of celebrity and influencer endorsements within the gambling industry, with the research body recommending that the Irish government be hesitant of the “normalisation of gambling among younger people through a saturation of marketing”.
While we await further news on how the final proposals will look, the industry waits in anticipation to see what opportunities the newly-regulated Irish market will present. What will be interesting to see is how many operators look to pursue expansion in the Emerald Isle, and how the new regulator will oversee key facets such as marketing and player protection.
But for now, all we can ask is: could we be waiting another two years for regulation to progress? Who knows …
