The Gambling Regulation Bill (GRB) has become bogged down in the Republic of Ireland’s Dáil Éireann, or lower house, as more representatives find fault with various details, SBC News reported April 26.
The bill is the first serious attempt to reform the Irish Betting Act of 1931. If passed in the Dail, it would be forwarded to the Senate (Seanad). Part of the problem is that the coalition government includes three parties that have much to disagree about when it comes to details of the bill.
Minister of State James Browne, who is in charge of the bill’s agenda, opposed excluding charity draws from being included in the bill. He has argued that the bill must not be amended.
Browne declared, “excluding charities could remove important safeguards against the misuse of charitable status for gambling.” He declared that amendments are only allowed during the “committee phase” of a bill.
At the end of 2022, the coalition government agreed on the terms of the GRB, the first such reform in nearly a century, and the intent was for it to become law last year. Nevertheless, the bill remains stuck in the lower house as it has been since last July.
The government has been optimistic enough about passage to create the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRA) and appoint Anne Marie Caulfield as chief executive officer. But her authority doesn’t yet have the force of law.
Two major sticking points in the bill’s delay are connected with the reformation of the criminal code and gambling marketing and advertising.
The Ministry of Justice has said that in upholding the law, courts won’t be able to reference the old law.
