Bill “drop-kicked” into the future
A proposed overhaul of Ireland’s casino system has been put off for another year, and likely will not be revisited until after the country’s general election in April 2016.
In July 2013, the Irish government approved the General Scheme of the Gambling Control bill. According to Intergameonline.com, the bill repeals and replaces all existing regulation for betting, gaming, bingo and lotteries except the National Lottery and also extend the licensing regime to include both online and electronic gambling.
It also included plans to create up to 40 casinos; ban fixed odds betting terminals; and possibly ban virtual sports in betting shops. The bill “has officially been drop-kicked into touch until after the next general election,” said John Purcell, organizer of last month’s Irish Gaming Show and head of Purcell and Associates.
“However, there’s a caveat in there and this is what I keep on saying to people; you have to remember we have a regulator already, very sneakily introduced as our National Lottery regulator?a gentleman named Liam Sloyan?and he will assume control for gaming, he just hasn’t been given the rules yet. We actually have the bare bones infrastructure for it to happen, he just needs to be given the parameters for it to happen.”
Sloyan, the former head of the Health Insurance Authority in Ireland, was appointed in October last year to oversee the newly privatized National Lottery operation.
