Irish Justice Committee urges a ban on pre-watershed gambling advertising
Committee suggests roughly 3,400 of Ireland’s 15- and 16-year-olds are “engaged in problem gambling”
As reported by the Journal.ie, Ireland’s Oireachtas Justice Committee has recommended that there should be a blanket ban on “all forms of advertising” by betting companies in the country.
In a report published as part of the pre-legislative scrutiny of the Gambling Regulation Bill, the committee made a range of recommendations to the government on what should change in the bill, which is expected to pass next year.
The reason for the call for a blanket ban on pre-watershed advertising is that the committee quoted that around 3,400 15-16-year-olds are “engaged in problem gambling in Ireland”.
Among these recommendations, the committee has said that there should be an examination into the possibility of introducing a Domain Name System (DNS) to stop access at a country level to operators who are not licensed in Ireland.
The bill will establish a regulatory body in Ireland. The Justice Committee has recommended that its new rules and regulations be applied equally to all operators to ensure customers are protected.
The committee has recommended that there should be automated software in place to better complete age verification checks when players register on a site.
The only recommendation that could prove problematic is how operators would conduct background checks on potential players to determine whether they may be financially vulnerable. This could prove tricky due to GDPR issues that could be raised with regard to what an operator can have access to.
The report also included the submissions submitted by stakeholders on the General Scheme of the Gambling Regulation Bill. These stakeholders included Entain, Flutter and Lottoland.
The committee reported that: “Stakeholders emphasised, in particular, the need for a pre-watershed ban on all forms of gambling advertising.
“They pointed out that a cultural shift had resulted in advertising on cigarettes being banned and advertising on alcohol being curtailed and recommended that the same approach be applied to gambling advertising.”
The report noted that the majority of online adverts are aimed at people aged 25 and over. However, stakeholders countered, saying, “it can be challenging to prevent all websites from showing adverts to those under 16”.
Deputy James Lawless, Cathaoirleach of the committee, said: “The committee has identified several issues and made recommendations on these, which are explained in detail in the body of the report.
“Among the areas identified for further examination include the prevalence and impact of gambling advertising, particularly on young people; measures to protect vulnerable individuals from developing a problem addiction; Fixed-Odds Betting Terminals; and the self-exclusion scheme for gamblers,” Lawless added.