Key takeaways from the Dáil debate on the Gambling Regulation Bill 2022

Several senators gathered in Dáil Éireann on Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon to discuss amendments to Ireland’s Gambling Regulation Bill 2022.

Across both sittings, the growth of online gambling and the rise in marketing was referenced several times as senators sought to update the bill, including amendment 53 which looked at expanding the regulator’s research function so that more resources would be spent looking into the trends and technologies used in online gambling.

The incoming bill could also introduce a ban on gambling ads between 5.30am and 9pm, although horseracing TV channels Racing TV and Sky Sports Racing oppose any prohibition because of racing’s links to betting.

The need for regulatory measures to protect minors was also raised, as senators used the meetings to air their concerns over the evolution of online gambling and its impact in society.

Below, EGR analyses the several contributions made by senators during the two sessions.

Tim Lombard, senator for Fine Gael

Backing the change in legislation, Tim Lombard pointed out that the world is constantly evolving and though the previous topic discussed was historically land-based, he wanted to talk about digital advertising.

Using a recent example, Lombard said 30 seconds after getting into his car at 8.30am with his children, he heard a gambling ad while listening to Spotify and argued such ads should not be aired at times when children could hear them.

Lombard called for regulation surrounding marketing on platforms such as the music app, which targets minors.

“I suppose the issue I’m raising now is about digital ads, and how that’s going to tie into this legislation, and where that’s going to be, hopefully restricted.

“When you have platforms that are having ads focused on online gambling coming on Spotify very early in the morning that could affect kids or teenagers, how can we now look at actually controlling that?

“How can we actually change the actual profile of how the gambling regime is effectively in everything we do, in every walk of life?

“It’s not about going to your gambling casinos anymore. It’s literally a phone. We can actually restrict the advertising levels that are there.

“We need to make sure something is done to protect our youth in society. And what’s there at the moment isn’t good enough.”

Mark Wall, senator for the Labour Party

Bringing the topic back to gambling marketing after a few senators discussed the powers of local government in relation to gambling and slot machines, Mark Wall raised the times at which gambling ads are shown on television.

Calling for a blanket ban, Wall argued that viewers are bombarded with ads when they settle down to watch their favourite shows in the evening.

“If we’re going to look at gambling advertising, we’ve now introduced a watershed under this particular bill. I don’t think it goes far enough.

“It ends at 9pm at night. It will not cover late-night advertising. It will not cover the bingo advertising because at that time is when people settle down to look at the programmes and they’re hit with these advertisers.

“I believe we need a 24-hour ban.”

Shane Cassells, senator for Fianna Fáil

Senator Shane Cassells also raised the impact gambling ads can have on children, saying it has become the “norm” to see marketing while watching sports, especially during football.

Looking at the horseracing industry, Cassells added it was “wrong” for newspapers in recent weeks to suggest the sport would cease to exist if the legislation passed.

James Browne, minister of state at the Department of Justice, has defended the potential shift in the past, arguing that there is no evidence from TV channels such as Racing TV that a ban would cost the sector €2m.

“Only last week it was actually indicated in reports that were published and covered in the newspapers [about] the impact of advertising on the young people of the country. What a very sad society that young people see the proliferation of gambling advertising as now being part of the norm of watching sporting activity.

“And why? Because that proliferation has been allowed to fester and grow, in particular in the sport of football, and it is very, very regrettable and sad.

“The manner in which an industry, which has not been reformed in decades, has been able to use new media tools to target susceptible people, it’s just wrong.”

Cassells continued: “And what was even worse were the threats made by those, in particular in the horseracing industry, to say that industry would collapse if your legislation went through the houses [of the Oireachtas].

“Was pitiful to see some of the tabloid papers in this country use our front pages to say that the horseracing industry could collapse because of this legislation, and they did it because they, too, are in hawk to the advertising money of the bookies.

“It funds them because their business model is broken too, and so the multi-billion-euro gambling industry is now the oxygen we’ve seen for so many things, profiting off the back of those susceptible people.”

James Browne, minister of state at the Department of Justice

Explaining the legislation and amendments, James Browne pointed out that children are walking around with mobile phones capable of hosting gambling and that while land-based casinos may be an issue, casinos in “our back pocket” is now a problem.

Later on in the debate, after several senators discussed slot machines and the number of land-based casinos in local areas, Browne spoke again to point out that for an hour-and-a-half senators have spoken about physical premises, when casinos are “in every bedroom in the country”.

Turning the focus to online gambling, Browne said that issue must be addressed, and people must tackle problem gambling.

“Every 10- to 12-year-old has a phone, a casino in their house. That is what I’m trying to address here.

“The idea that there’s all these big money people wanting to open all these physical casinos in every estate in the country, the big people with the big money are putting them into online gambling and [there’s] a proliferation of gambling right across the country. And that’s why this legislation is so important.”

However, Browne was told by senator Michael McDowell that the amendments discussed on Wednesday night were for in-person gambling “and that is different from now talking about online gambling. This amendment will be concerned with in-person gambling”.

Alice-Mary Higgins, Independent senator

At the start of Thursday’s session, senator Alice-Mary Higgins urged the incoming regulator to monitor the latest trends and practices in igaming.

Highlighting how the industry has grown post-Covid, Higgins referenced the rise in loot boxes in video games and the “intrinsic” link between gambling and technology. She noted that as the industry spends more resources on online gaming, the regulator must have a “designated responsibility” to monitor those trends.

“We’ve seen it in the issues in the past, where the industry can sometimes outpace the provisions that are there to regulate it, particularly when it comes to areas around innovation and technology, given the intrinsic links.

“We saw this shift in terms of gambling, the shift to online gambling and technology-mediated gambling. There can be very speedy changes and shifts in practices.

“If the regulator is not charged to watch for those trends and get ahead of them, then we are going to be again coming after the fact, talking about the new phenomenon, be it from loot boxes to whatever other trends are emerging.

“A huge amount of the profiteering in the gambling industry is taking place online. We believe the new regulator should have a designated responsibility for monitoring trends and practices.”

Raising the role online gambling has played with regards to problem gambling, Higgins had seen a shift over the last decade when it came to “total gambling spend” for people who bet online instead of in-person.

Pointing to an Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) study from October 2023, which estimated that one in 30 people in Ireland suffers from gambling harm, she claimed operators are using resources to keep players gambling for longer.

“According to the ESRI, online gambling today accounts for three-fifths of the total gambling spend of those people with problem gambling, with in-person spend making up the rest.

“Ten years ago, this balance was completely different. Look how quickly it shifted, particularly during Covid, from a situation where gambling in the betting shop is a picture that people have in their head to a situation of online gambling.

“Huge resources are going into the technologies and the mechanisms within the online space that are designed to keep people gambling, for higher amounts and for longer and more frequently.”