SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The passage of Ireland’s Gambling Regulation Bill (GRB) has become further muddied, as conflicts emerge on the framework’s rules and determinations related to fundraising activities connected with gambling.
Concerns were raised to Minister of State, James Browne, who oversees the GRB’s agenda, to exclude charity draws and schemes from being included in the Bill’s framework.
An amendment, carrying a specific exemption for charity purposes, was proposed by Labour Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin but was rejected by Browne, who stated that the GRB must remain as it stands.
Browne cited that “excluding charities could remove important safeguards against the misuse of charitable status for gambling.”
Furthermore, the minister scolded deputies for attempting to modify the Bill at its review stage before proceeding to the Seanad (senate) to be determined as a law.
Deputies were reminded that amendments can only be considered during the ‘committee phase’ and therefore cannot be reintroduced during the report stage of the Bill.
Though aware that the GRB has been stuck at the report stage of the Dáil since July 2023, Minister Browne criticised deputies for missing key debates on charity determinations during the Bill’s drafting.
At the close of 2022, the parties of the Irish tri-coalition government agreed on the regulatory terms of the Gambling Regulation Bill (GRB), the Republic’s new regulatory framework for gambling which will succeed the defunct and near-century-old Irish Betting Act of 1931.
The GRB was meant to come into law in 2023; however, the Bill remains stuck in the Dáil since July, as ministers review articles related to how Ireland’s gambling market will be reorganised.
The government maintains its plans to establish the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRA), led by CEO designate Anne Marie Caulfield, but as it stands, the GRB has no timeline to ascend into law.
The delay of the GRB is related to cross-party divisions on how Ireland will reform its criminal codes and advertising/media laws for gambling. There are also unsettled terms on the funding of horseracing as a heritage sport.
The Ministry of Justice has warned the tri-coalition government of the significance of upholding the GRB, as Irish law courts cannot reference the outdated Betting Act of 1931 to judge disputes related to modern betting and gambling.
