Gambling regulation timetable
Deputy McNamara called for stronger gambling regulation and queried the delay given the scale of harm. The Minister of State said Committee Stage of the Bill would be taken on 11 July and hoped it would move quickly thereafter.
Soon after the last election, Senator Mark Wall proposed a ban on online gambling. A Gambling Regulation Bill was introduced by the Minister for Justice to this House. It passed last December. Obviously, gambling brings in quite a lot of funds to the Exchequer, but there are other ways to earn money. If we can put health warnings on wine bottles now, what is the delay in regulating gambling? You cannot watch a match on television now without being bombarded with advertisements trying to get young people to go online to gamble. The ESRI yesterday said 12,000 people in Ireland have a gambling problem and acknowledged that that figure is understated. We need to act with urgency on this issue.
Comment on this
I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. I was glad to launch the ESRI research into gambling and I can tell the Deputy that Committee Stage of the Bill will be taken on 11 July. The Select Committee on Justice insisted on four hours, a double session, in order that we can clear it off and move it on.
Comment on this
What about Report and Final Stages?
Comment on this
I am in the hands of the Houses for that but I would hope it would move quite quickly from that point on.