Irish Gambling laws - consultation paper issued today

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Existing laws regulating gambling in the State are not fit for purpose, Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said today.

Speaking following the publication of a consultation paper entitled Options for Regulating Gambling , Mr Ahern said his wish was that regulation of the industry be brought into the 21st century.

This would mean “improved protection for minors and vulnerable adults, more transparent operations by gambling providers, and more effective measures against fraud and illegal gambling and criminality,” he said.

The paper, drawn up following a public consultation process, says resort casinos would generate large-scale employment during construction and operation and should also provide a high return to the state in terms of licensing fees and gambling tax revenue.

http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Options%2 ... mbling.pdf


this section includes some notes on exchanges:

6. BETTING
6.1 Any new regulatory architecture for gambling would provide a definition of betting
and bring betting under a common regulator along with gaming and lotteries. The
fundamental principles of the Betting Act 1931 need not be significantly changed in terms of
the licensing process. Companies offering financial spread betting are currently regulated by
the Financial Regulator. This leaves the position of companies offering sports spread betting
out on a limb. In Great Britain these are regulated by the Financial Regulator, following a
court determination that the product offered was in the financial services realm.
Consideration would have to be given to how best to regulate sports spread betting in this
jurisdiction, without creating regulatory overlap.
6.2 Betting Exchanges would, however, be regulated and subject to licence. These
typically offer over the internet a form of person(s)-to-person(s) bookmaking where the
customer can "lay", that is bet that something will not occur (the position bookmakers have
traditionally taken when offering a bet), as well as back a particular outcome to happen (the
traditional “bet”).
6.3 The review process has been advised from some quarters that betting exchanges are
being used for some bookmaking activities that go far beyond what could be regarded as the
activities of individuals engaging in a simple wager. A betting exchange may, for example,
be used by some bookmakers as a way of laying off some bets. If the bookmaker is a
licensed bookmaker, then this is not an activity that need merit attention. After all, licensed
bookmakers, when a large bet comes in, routinely try to lay off the risk by buying bets from
other bookmakers.
6.4 On the other hand, where individuals are engaged in significant activity in a betting
exchange, which might, if it were to occur off-line, be regarded as running an unlicensed
bookmaking operation, then the State should be able to intervene, if only from a regulatory
and taxation perspective.
6.5 The Betting Act 1931 and associated enactments could be repealed and re-enacted to
form the basis of the regulatory environment for betting, and be built upon in the Act. The
existing role allocated to the Garda Síochána, in respect of certification of certain
bookmakers, is likely to continue to operate, in conjunction with a revised licensing
arrangement under the Minister for Justice and Law Reform.
6.6 The distinction between betting and gaming should be maintained, and gaming machines
not permitted on licensed bookmaking premises. This should put an end to the controversy
over Fixed Odds Betting Terminals. However, bookmakers should be permitted to exploit
technological advances so that any product or service normally permitted over the counter
may also be offered through terminals. In that context, the definition of betting would be