Politicians are facing intense lobbying over proposed new gambling laws , which the Government says are needed to tackle a “tsunami of social problems”. Under proposed gambling laws, measures include a ban on advertising during the day, the establishment of a social-impact fund to support problem gambling initiatives, and the creation of the country’s first gambling regulator with sweeping powers in the sector. Analysis of the lobbying register so far this year shows significant lobbying of politicians in Leinster House around gambling legislation which is still making its way through the Oireachtas.
Professor Colin O’Gara, a consultant psychiatrist and head of addiction services at St John of God Hospital, told the Irish Examiner there has been “non-stop, incessant pressure” from the gambling sector on junior justice minister James Browne to water down the bill. “The whole idea of this legislation is we get it through in a timely fashion,” he said. “That time has elapsed.
It’s been too long.” As well as bookmakers and horse-racing representatives, much of the lobbying has come from charities worried about how their fundraising activities, such as lotteries and raffles, would be impacted. In correspondence with TDs and senators, Arthritis Ireland said its national raffle would suffer from the advertising watershed, and a potential loss of €25,000 from its annual income would have a “detrimental impact” on its ability to provide services and support.
