I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, for being in the House this afternoon. I understand that the Minister with responsibility, whose presence I had requested, is travelling overseas, so I appreciate that the Minister of State has taken the time to come to respond to this Commencement matter. I had been seeking that the Minister for public expenditure would attend the Seanad today to update us on his engagement with the Gambling Regulatory Authority on the regulations that will be issued for gambling and betting. I am specifically seeking clarification from the Minister on his engagement with the authority on the national lottery.

As the Minister of State will be aware, the national lottery comes under the remit of the Minister with responsibility for public expenditure. Next year, the national lottery will be 40 years old. In the 40 years, more than €6 billion of funding has been dispensed to good causes including everything from sports pitches to theatres, museums and the Special Olympics. It channels funding from ordinary citizens who play the lotto in their local newsagent or Spar or Centra, to the governing bodies and organisations, which in turn support cultural, sporting and charitable good causes in all of our communities around the country. It is incredibly valuable funding and it is an incredibly valuable mechanism for the citizens of Ireland to have available to them to play the lotto, have a chance to win, but know at the same time that they are contributing towards good causes, primarily charitable causes.

A pattern and activity has developed whereby betting organisations are taking bets on the lotto. People are betting on what the lotto result will be. A lot of them think they are betting on the lotto and contributing to the fund that contributes to and funds good causes but in actual fact, what they are doing is placing a bet in a bookies or online with a bookie, and that bet is on the outcome of the lotto.

What is the result? It is fewer sales for the lotto. That means fewer funds for the lotto to distribute to good causes. It is damaging our national lottery. It is damaging a fund that was directly created to give citizens an opportunity to contribute to good causes in a regulated and structured manner and in a way that is really meaningful and that has been hugely powerful.

I was hoping the Minister for public expenditure with responsibility for the lottery and its integrity, which we all recognise as a valuable entity, could update the House on what action his Department is taking to engage with the new Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, which was established under the gambling regulations legislation introduced in 2024 to stop that practice. Most countries in Europe have banned the practice of betting on the lottery. Ireland is an outlier and we are falling behind our European partners in this regard. We need to catch up because if we do not, it is going to continue to damage the lottery. It is going to continue to erode and take from sales of the lottery, which in turn erodes and takes from the fund that is available to good causes.

I again thank the Minister of State for being here. I hope that the Department has sent him with an update that will outline to the House what actions are being taken to protect the national lottery and to ensure that it continues to be available as a valuable fund to help support good causes right across the country.

I want to address the issue raised by Senator Fitzpatrick regarding the current practice of lottery betting as a betting activity. It is great to be back in the Seanad again. I thank the Senator for the articulate, informative and measured way that she put across this argument. I have a kind of an interest in this because in 1985 I worked in Australia and I saw how the lotto worked there and how it provided lots of funding for sport and health and when the lottery opened up here in Ireland, as a newsagent I applied for a lotto licence, which certainly benefited us.

I was secretary of Boyle Celtic at the time, and we were the first or second club to apply for sports grants. I remember coming up here in 1987. There was a Fianna Fáil-led Government of which, I think, the late Seán Doherty and the former Minister Frank Fahey were members. We got £20,000 at the time. That made a huge difference to our football club, which has gone from strength to strength ever since.

We have seen over the years how this has evolved. I also like to gamble as well sometimes, between doing the lotto and going into bookies' shops. I see how important this has been for bookies' shops, but I would like to think the money that people spend on the lotto comes back to the State, and I think the Senator made a very strong argument in that regard.

The issue of betting on the national lottery through private bookmakers is a matter for the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, GRAI. The latter was established by legislation, as the Senator said, as recently as 2024. It is intended and expected to bring greater oversight and scrutiny to the gambling sector in Ireland. The role of the GRAI is to make sure that gambling is well regulated and fair, that standards are in place and monitored, and that protections are there for those who are most vulnerable, particularly children. As regulator, the GRAI will be working to prevent gambling from being a source of or support to crime, putting certain limits on advertising and inducements and raising greater awareness of gambling harms.

The GRAI aims to build a high standard of protection for consumers and to ensure the integrity and fairness of gambling operations in Ireland. Of course, it is appropriate to note in the context the very valuable role and work of the statutory independent Regulator of the National Lottery in ensuring that the dual operations of the lottery remain fair, just and safe. The work of the regulator has helped to give confidence to the purchasers of lottery tickets, that the process is overseen and its propriety and integrity is preserved. The legal framework for regulating the national lottery is well established, robust and functioning effectively.

The issue raised by the Senator is, naturally, an important one of which the Department is aware. The Minister for public expenditure is responsible for the legislation underpinning the national lottery, which is the National Lottery Act 2013, and overseeing the distribution of the lottery's funding of good causes. Our Department, of course, has a natural interest in protecting and supporting and in helping to protect and support the unique identify, value and status of the national lottery for the people of Ireland.

The GRAI has responsibility for regulating gambling activity in Ireland other than the operations of the national lottery, which is specifically excluded from its remit. The national lottery is independently regulated under statute, as I have noted, by the Regulator of the National Lottery. However, betting on the National Lottery through private bookmakers and gambling entities is a matter for the GRAI and will no doubt be considered within the framework of its own statutory framework and responsibilities.

Officials from the Department of public expenditure met with the Gambling Regulation Authority of Ireland in December of last year about betting on the national lottery and the licensing regime relating thereto. The authority has informed the Department of public expenditure that it is currently examining the practice of operators offering bets on national lottery draws.

The Minister of State could not have done better justice to the Commencement, particularly considering his personal history with it. Well done to him. He outlined perfectly how to the lotto works to fund grassroots good causes.

I welcome the reply, which outlines very clearly the responsibilities that rest with the GRAI and the Minister for public expenditure. I also welcome the fact that officials from the Department met with the GRAI as recently as December and are examining this issue. I would urge the Minister of State, not just in his capacity as a Minister of State in the Government but as somebody with a personal history and a real appreciation of the value of the national lottery to good causes in our country, to personally engage with the officials on this issue. As I said, Ireland is falling behind other countries in Europe. We are, I believe, one of only three countries left in the European Union that have not yet banned betting on the lotto. I urge the Minister of State to engage with the officials and to work with them to seek and secure a ban on betting on the lotto. It will only protect the lotto, the fund and a source of essential funding for good causes. I would appreciate it if the Minister of State could take that action.

The authority has received submissions on this issue from Premier Lotteries Ireland, the Irish Postmasters Union and others.

It is carrying out research on regulatory approaches in other EU and EEA jurisdictions as part of its engagement with the authority on this matter. Premier Lotteries Ireland has made the case that prohibiting betting on the lottery will enhance the revenue for good causes.

In its engagement with the GRAI, which is an independent regulator operating within its own statutory framework, this Department’s perspective has been informed by two important considerations. The first is protecting the value and reputation of the national lottery while the second is ensuring the long-term sustainability of the national lottery and subsequently the indirect safeguarding of good causes funding into the future as a result. These considerations are effectively linked with the brand and reputation of the national lottery feeding into the revenue for good causes. As such, the Department has emphasised that any action which protects and enhances the reputation of the national lottery and protects and supports the revenue for good causes would be welcome. This is the key concern of the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation and his Department. The Department has already engaged with the GRAI and we are open to further engagement. We are very conscious of the very valuable investment in our communities funded by the national lottery and everything we do in this regard will be informed by the core consideration to maintain the relevance and value of the national lottery for future generations.