Ireland’s Department of Justice recently announced it finally will move forward the Gambling Control Bill which was published in 2013 but has languished in the legislature ever since. The measure includes several provisions designed to protect vulnerable persons, including children, from risks to their well being due to gambling, said Junior Justice Minister David Stanton. He added the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel is reviewing the bill, which then will be brought up “at the earliest feasible opportunity.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice explained the legislation has been delayed for nearly three years because of “complexities” in its implementation. “Minister Stanton is very much aware that there are a number of areas of concern to members of the public and to the wider community in relation to gambling and he and the department are working to progress these issues as quickly as possible.”
The measure will update all of Ireland’s existing laws concerning the regulation of gambling and gaming, with the exception of the National Lottery. Provisions include licensing online gambling, verifying minimum age for alcohol sales in gambling establishments and banning young people from working in betting shops. In addition, the bill allows self-exclusion for periods of six months to five years.
Gambling addiction among young people in Ireland became a public concern after Galway hurling star Davy Glennon, 24, described on national television his eight-year struggle with the problem. He admitted getting loans from credit unions and from banks and even sold his car to fund his addiction. “My life was turned into a gambling rut, and I couldn’t get out. There were so many lows. I isolated myself. I became a compulsive liar,” he said. He hit the bottom, he said, when he was selected for the Leinster Final against Kilkenny in 2015, but was taken out of the game after only 24 minutes.
“It was two to three days later I was at breaking point. I had a nervous breakdown. I needed to do something now. I was as bad as any alcoholic. I had a disease that was so hidden. I hid it for eight years,” Glennon said. He was treated for gambling addiction and is doing much better now, he noted.
