Irish operators urge for regulation

Casino operators and bookmakers in Ireland are calling for gambling regulation to be enforced in the country.

The Gaming and Leisure Association of Ireland (GALA) and the Irish Bookmakers Association, representing Irish casinos and bookmakers respectively have urged for a regulation in the country. Despite approving a Gambling Control Bill in 2013, the Irish have made no progress ever since and the industry has to regulate itself, generating several irregularities.

Ireland has no clear legislation on gambling and that forces the industry to act as its own watchdog, controlling suspicious transactions, potential event fixing and underage gambling. That’s why operators are calling for new regulations to be imposed, despite potential hurdles that may impose on their business, as they consider a clear regulatory framework would favour the sector as a whole.

Gala’s David Hickson assured “everyone wants regulation — us [operators] and the health professionals who deal with problem gambling,” and said he believes the government is in favour of regulating the industry. However, Junior Justice Minister David Stanton said last month he was working on the Gambling Control Bill and proposed a “shadow-form regulator” but refused to make any further comments and operators have not been questioned on the subject.

According to a minister’s spokesman, the government is working on making progress with the text of the bill. He also assured that a review of the General Scheme of the Gambling Control Bill is being conducted and said: “A number of issues are being considered as part of this review.”