The Bill itself is expected to be published in the coming days, however, we have set out below some of the key points to note from the announcement and associated media webinars that were held to announce the publication of the bill:
The Bill will be a significant piece of legislation containing 218 sections.
At the heart of the Bill will be the establishment of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland. The Bill will set out the key functions of the regulator which will include the control and licensing of gambling activity in Ireland, the monitoring of compliance, the taking of enforcement actions and the setting of standards around advertising, sponsorship, protection of children and the protection of the vulnerable;
The Bill will introduce a new streamlined licensing regime with three licence types being available. The types of licences that will be available to retail and online operators will be:
i. Business to Consumer Gaming, Betting and Lottery Licences;
ii. Business to Business Licences; and
iii. Gambling licences for Charitable/Philanthropic Causes.
The Gambling Regulatory Authority will adopt a phased approach to licensing with transitional arrangements being put in place for those who have existing licences;
Whilst the Bill will seek to strike a balance between the freedom of people to gamble it would appear that the protection of the vulnerable and children will be a major focus of the Bill. It has been announced that the Bill will;
i. Prohibit advertising that is intended to appeal to children;
ii. Introduce a ban on advertising of gambling products between 5.30 am and 9 pm which will extend to advertising on social media platforms;
iii. Contain restrictions on sponsorship of sporting events where the event is likely to appeal to children;
iv. Contain restrictions on the ability of gambling companies to provide inducements/incentives to individual customers;
v. Prohibit gambling operators from having ATM machines on premises or accepting credit cards;
vi. Provided for the establishment of a Social Impact Fund for the purposes of financing research and information, education and awareness raising measures, and appropriately supporting problem gambling treatment activities.
The Bill will provide for the creation of a National Self Exclusion Register. It will be a requirement for online operators to not accept bets from customers who have opted to self-exclude. A policy decision has been made to not seek to apply this to in person betting given the practical difficulties that this can create; and
The Gambling Regulatory Authority will be given significant powers to levy administrative sanctions and to commence prosecution of offences;
To ensure that the legislation remains flexible, the Gambling Regulatory Authority will be delegated responsibility for developing codes of practice which operators will be obliged to comply with as part of their licensing conditions. The precise requirements of these codes have yet to be drafted.