Under a more than 60-year-old set of gambling laws, Irish slot machines can only accept a 3 cent bet and have a maximum payout of 50 cents, but proposed reforms to the law would raise those amounts to €10 a bet with a maximum payment of €750.
And that has raised concerns that problem gambling would immediately spike in the country if realistic slot play was introduced.
The new proposed limits were criticized by two Independent Senators, David Norris and Gerard Craughwell, when the Gaming and Lotteries (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was debated in the Upper House last month.
“They are enormous and vast increases. From 3 cent to €10 is bad enough, but from 50 cent to €750 clearly raises this situation beyond the question of gaming for amusement,” Norris said according to the Irish Times.
Barry Grant, chief executive of Problem Gambling Ireland, said that even with the nominal 3-cent limit, his organization already deals with clients who went into arcades and casinos with their week’s wages and walked out a few hours later with nothing.
“How much more quickly will they lose a week’s wages at €10 a spin in a market that is unregulated and has a history of zero enforcement?” he asked.
However, proponents of the bill say the current stakes are unrealistic and that other forms of gambling—such as lotteries and bingo—already easily eclipse those stakes.
The stakes bill is the first part of wider reforms of gambling laws, which will see the establishment of a regulator’s office within two years. The law will also enforce a minimum age of 18 for all gaming and lottery games. It will also give the Minister for Justice powers to increase or decrease the maximum stakes up and down, the Times reported.
