The Irish Department of Justice declined to adopt protections for new gambling regulations that were proposed to prevent gaming consumers from losing more than they can afford.
Barry Grant of Extern Problem Gambling criticized this rejection as “a big miss.”
The proposal was made by the Irish parliament’s Justice Committee, which also recommended that gaming operators be liable to dependents and creditors of gamblers when they should have known they were gambling beyond their means. That proposal was also rejected by the department as being “impractical.”
The committee commented, “Implementation of the recommendation could be open to abuse (for example a gambling participant could deliberately run up a lower amount in gambling debts to avoid paying off more substantial debts e.g. a mortgage payment).”
The law passed by the Oireachtas included the creation of the country’s first Gambling Regulatory Authority; a ban on broadcast advertising between certain hours; a ban on inducements such as free play; and the creation of a social impact fund to reduce problem gaming.
The Authority is expected to begin operating this year.
