The Minister of State for Law Reform, Youth Justice and Immigration, James Browne TD, has just unveiled the General Scheme of the Gambling Regulation Bill.
The Program for Government shows a clear commitment to form a gambling regulator dedicated to overall safety and well-being, covering online gambling and in person. It will also cover advertising, gambling, and casino sites, and apps. The Scheme was already approved by Government this week.
The new Scheme is based on the recommendations of expert reports involving the Inter-Departmental Working Group Report (from March 2019), detailed analysis of the regulatory terms in different jurisdictions, and the nature of the state gambling. It also follows the increasing influence of technology on gambling and focuses on the spread of gambling related advertising.
The Authority will address the following goals:
- Ensuring that gambling is run in a fair and open way for enterprises to make decisions in certainty
- Searching for safeguards to cope with problem gambling and gambling advertising
- Prevention of gambling as a source of crime
Commenting on the new bill, Minister Browne said:
“The publication of the General Scheme is an important milestone towards the effective regulation of gambling in Ireland under the new, independent statutory body – the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland. The Scheme sets out the framework and legislative basis for how we will do this”
According to his words, they all accept that the existing legislative framework is fragmented, obsolete and lacks a coherent licensing and regulatory approach, and needs reform. It’s time to address this problem comprehensively, once and for all. He believes that the legislative underpinning of the new Authority will be vital to its success, and he is committed to taking this forward. There will be chances for stakeholder engagement and inclusion as part of the pre-legislative scrutiny procedure.
What Else Was Mentioned?
Commenting on the enforcement powers of the new Irish Authority, Minister Browne says the Authority will have essential enforcement powers for licensing. It will also be able to undertake appropriate action where suppliers are failing to comply with the legislation.
He added:
“I have established a Programme Board within my own department to ensure that the legislation and the operational preparations are progressed in parallel so that the Authority commences operations as soon as possible after enactment. There is a pathway mapped for this legislation progressing, which will facilitate the Authority being established and operational in 2023.”
Source:
“Minister Browne publishes General Scheme of Gambling Regulation Bill”, gov.ie, October 21, 2021.
The post Minister Browne Presents General Scheme of Gambling Regulation Bill first appeared on RealMoneyAction.com.