Oireachtas must settle and authorise the Gambling Regulation Bill (GRB) of Ireland as speculation mounts that Taoiseach Simon Harris and Tánaiste Micheál Martin will call for a General Election. The GRB has faced a grinding two-year review by the Dáil (Lower House) and Seanad (Senate) of Oireachtas, since being determined as a joint bill sanctioned by the Tri-coalition government of …
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Irish racing stakeholders have expressed their concerns about the current terms of the Gambling Regulation Bill (GRB), which they believe threatens the commercial viability of their heritage sports. This week, concerns were conveyed to the government by Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) and the Association of Irish Racecourses (AIR) regarding the GRB’s existing terms, which they argue limit the commercial opportunities …
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The creation of an Irish gambling regulator has been delayed until ‘at least 2021’ according to Justice Minister Helen McEntee. In May 2019, the Irish government’s proposals to establish an independent gambling regulator to oversee the licencing of all gambling operators received the ‘full backing’ of the industry. According to Fine Gael TD David Stanton, a junior minister at the …
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The Irish gambling landscape is set to face some major changes in the coming months, but what has been a surprise to many is the mass seat gains of Sinn Féin. Speaking to Joe Lee, Head of Political Betting at Paddy Power, he explained that punters are backing a second general election before the end of the year, while a …
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Ahead of Ireland’s General Election on 8 February, some of the country’s major political parties have pledged to make a number of reforms to the country’s gambling sector. Publishing its manifesto, governing party Fine Gael has committed to introducing an independent gambling regulator in order to address the issue of problem gambling. Its manifesto said: “We will introduce an independent …
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Ireland’s temporary legislation for the betting and gaming industry, the Gaming and Lotteries Bill 2019, has been given the green light to advance to the committee stage in the Dáil Éireann. The legislation seeks to enforce an age restriction of 18 years old on all betting and gaming products across Ireland, as well as limit gaming machine stakes and prizes …
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Irish Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality, David Stanton, has suggested that problem gambling should be treated as a public health issue, as opposed to an issue with regulation. Stanton, who is responsible for overseeing regulation in the Irish betting industry, has claimed that imposing more stringent controls on the industry is a possibility, but it …
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The Dáil Éireann (Irish Parliament) is set to review a proposal to replace the Treasury approved ‘doubling of betting turnover duty’ – inbound for January 2019. Independent Kerry province TD Michael Healy-Rae has proposed a number of alternative amendments to the Finance Bill which are set to be debated later this week. The amendments, which are backed by the Irish …
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Ireland’s Republican Party, Fianna Fail spokesperson for finance Michael McGarth has labelled the continued delay of the country’s online gambling and betting duty a completely unacceptable. McGarth commented with regards to Ireland’s Ministry for Finance who reported that its plans to extend the 1% levy paid by bookmakers to online gambling had run into considerable difficulty. At present gambling levy’s …
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