SBC News Ireland introduces uniformed 18-year age limit on all forms of gambling

Ireland introduces uniformed 18-year age limit on all forms of gambling

Updating industry stakeholders, The Irish Cabinet has approved new age limit regulations for gambling services set under the new ‘Courts and Civil Liabilities Bill’ (Miscellaneous Provisions).

The new mandate will set a uniformed age limit of 18-year across all forms of licensed gambling across Ireland. The introduced Bill has set out to modernize the provisions of the 1956 ‘Gaming & Lotteries Act’.

The Gaming & Lotteries Act was deemed inefficient for Irish betting consumers, as regulations only covered gambling activities at circuses, carnivals, funfairs and amusement halls.

Under the provisions of the current piece of legislation, users are not allowed to purchase a lottery ticket or place a bet in case they are not 18 years old. In addition, under-aged individuals are not allowed to be in a bookmaker’s outlet. Up to date, the Gaming and Lotteries Act of 1956 allows persons who are over 16 years old to enter arcades or amusement halls in which there may be slot machines.

The Cabinet and supporting MPs believe that the new legislation will bring clarity to Irish gambling provisions for both consumers and commercial stakeholders. Members of the Dáil Éireann have raised concerns that a number of local lotteries and charity raffles have acted without any proper authorization, breaking rules on prize limits being over €30,000.

To date, legislation has been delayed  due to ‘complexities’ surrounding effective implementation, Nevertheless Irish MPs stated to the media the first legislation areas will be  introduced in the next parliamentary session. 

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