Some call for independent regulator
The results of a national survey in Ireland suggest that the majority of online gamblers have either borrowed money or sold off personal possessions in order to place a bet.
According to CDC Gaming Reports, the survey was conducted by Colin O’Gara, consultant psychiatrist and Head of Addiction Services at Saint John of God Hospital in Dublin. The results show that 75 percent of respondents engaged in these risky practices, and 64 percent reported that they gambled with money they could not afford to lose.
O’Gara told the Irish Times that the government needs to step up its action on the Gambling Control Bill. Gaming addiction organizations and the Irish Bookkeepers’ Association have also called for the process to be expedited and also want to see the installation of an independent regulator.
A fund is expected to be set up for the treatment of gambling addiction funded by a levy on gaming operators. They currently pay just 1 percent in corporate taxes each year, CDC reported.
Meanwhile, a majority of survey respondents said they thought the dangers of gambling should be better advertised. Almost 60 percent said they would prefer to play on sites that informed them of their overall losses, an initiative Paddy Power has already begun to establish.
