Maureen O’Sullivan, a member of the Irish Daily Parliament, recently charged the government with failing to enforce the three-year old Gambling Control Bill. O’Sullivan said the bill includes no appropriate means of enforcement and warned that without clarifying the law, the potential exists for problem gambling, money laundering and crime. She added the growth of online gambling, including mobile-based activities, are particularly challenging.
“The industry has licensed bookmakers and online betting licenses but there are private members’ clubs and casinos, some regulated and some not, gaming arcades, some licensed and some not, and gaming and amusement machines, some licensed and some not. It’s estimated that up to $5 billion Euros are spent on gambling every year in Ireland. The general scheme was published in July 2013 and pre-legislative scrutiny was conducted in November 2013, but there has been nothing since,” O’Sullivan stated.
