{"id":18944,"date":"2025-04-13T17:52:23","date_gmt":"2025-04-13T16:52:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/?p=18944"},"modified":"2025-05-20T19:16:44","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T18:16:44","slug":"extent-of-problem-gambling-in-ireland-is-10-times-higher-than-previously-thought-regulator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/2025\/04\/extent-of-problem-gambling-in-ireland-is-10-times-higher-than-previously-thought-regulator\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Extent of problem gambling in Ireland is 10 times higher than previously thought’ – regulator"},"content":{"rendered":"
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by Sean Murray – Mon, 17 Mar, 2025<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s important to realise, in terms of the harms of gambling, it\u2019s not confined to a particular gender. Sometimes it\u2019s considered that it ought to be a certain socioeconomic group or certain educational background. But it\u2019s actually across the board.\u2019<\/p>\n

Towards the end of the\u00a0Irish Examiner<\/span>\u2019s chat with Ireland\u2019s first gambling regulator, talk had turned to\u00a0a special edition of RT\u00c9 radio\u2019s Late Debate\u00a0that had aired the previous night.<\/p>\n

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Anne Marie Caulfield had been listening to the show that featured a 40-minute segment on the impact of gambling on the women of Ireland, a problem that can remain a hidden harm in their lives for some time.<\/p>\n

The hidden harm<\/strong><\/p>\n

It featured personal testimonies from women affected by problem gambling and commentary from Claire Donegan, the project lead for\u00a0the EmpowerHer Recovery Network that was set up to support women in this situation.<\/p>\n

Ms Caulfield, the chief executive of the\u00a0Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, which was formally established earlier this month, was keen to emphasise that her organisation would be listening to these voices as its work finally gets under way.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat Claire would say to us is that there can be certain issues in terms of problem gambling for women that they feel more comfortable raising in a women\u2019s group,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, people might be talking in terms of having gambled the children\u2019s allowance. And the whole stigma attached to problem gambling is so difficult anyway.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s important people understand it as a health issue, and one that needs to be treated in terms of a health issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regulator’s wide-ranging role<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the day that Ms Caulfield spoke to the\u00a0Irish Examiner<\/span>\u00a0from her office in central Dublin, she was also due to meet the seven-person board of the newly-established authority, all in-person, for the first time.<\/p>\n

They have a hefty in-tray.<\/p>\n

As well as licensing, supervising, and controlling gambling activities in the State, they\u2019ll have to establish a national gambling exclusion register, administer a social impact fund that will support treatment and awareness initiatives, handle complaints, and enforce restrictions on advertising legislation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have a lot of work to get through all that we\u2019ve done already,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Advocates had been crying out for well over a decade for Ireland\u2019s gambling laws to be brought into the 21st century.<\/p>\n

The previous legislation, drafted in the 1950s, hadn\u2019t accounted for people having mobile phones that they\u2019d have on them them all the time that could double as a casino on their favourite gambling apps.<\/p>\n

One of the dying acts of the last government was the passing of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024, steered through the Oireachtas by James Browne who is now the housing minister. It was 11 years after the Fine Gael-Labour government had first proposed new gambling laws.<\/p>\n

Stark data from the ESRI<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prior to getting granted its full powers, Ms Caulfield and her team had enlisted the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) to examine just how bad Ireland\u2019s problem with gambling was, and its findings only reinforced the need to have the sector regulated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe extent of problem gambling in Ireland was much higher than previously thought,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was 10 times higher than had been previously thought.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat figure of 3.1% [of people] demonstrating significant harm from gambling and then a further 7% had moderate levels [of harm]. And then the fact that 47% of turnover is actually attributed to those two categories from that ESRI study was worrying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Furthermore, she said that evidence that\u00a0children were twice as likely to become problem gamblers in later life if they bet before the age of 18\u00a0\u201creally does justify clamping down very hard\u201d.<\/p>\n

Licensing is a priority<\/p>\n

A key priority, now that the regulator is up and running, is getting the licensing regime operational.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Under the law, both in-shop and online gambling firms operating in the Irish market will have to register and be licensed by the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI).<\/p>\n

It\u2019ll replace the old system whereby betting operators were licensed by Revenue.<\/p>\n

Once they\u2019re licensed, they will be subject to the regulation of the authority with sweeping powers to impose fines of up to \u20ac20m or 10% of turnover \u2014 whichever is higher \u2014 for breaching the rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the obligations and consumer protections flow from licensing in the sense that the act sets out what the obligations are on licensed entities,\u201d Ms Caulfield said.<\/p>\n

While they have not yet set the fees for companies to register, she said they\u2019re trying to be \u201cproportionate\u201d and \u201cfair\u201d across the various types of gambling operators.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would expect it will be completed very soon, and then we\u2019ll bring it to our seven-person board,\u201d she said. \u201cWe will have a public consultation on it then and we also have to do some EU notifications.\u201d<\/p>\n

All that will take time, particularly the EU notifications, as another country could raise an issue that could delay the process. But, once that\u2019s done, Ms Caulfield hopes that the authority will become self-sustaining and not reliant on taxpayer funding in the near future.<\/p>\n

Regulator intends to be self-financing<\/p>\n

\u201cWe absolutely intend to be self-financing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe legislation says within three years, but hopefully sooner than that, as there\u2019ll be an application fee and then an annual fee to cover all the operational costs of the GRAI.\u201d<\/p>\n

As part of that licensing regime, gambling firms will have go through a corporate check, a financial check, and a technical check to make sure they\u2019re up to scratch.<\/p>\n

If a company is found to have breached its obligations in other countries, such as in the UK, where companies are routinely fined millions of pounds for breaches of anti-money laundering or consumer protection measures, that will be taken into account by Ireland\u2019s regulator when they come calling for a licence.<\/p>\n

Up to now, bookmakers were licensed by Revenue but the newly-established regulator will register and regulate both in-shop and online gambling firms operating in the Irish market. File picture: iStock<\/p>\n

Ms Caulfield also said that, as part of the licensing, they\u2019ll be vetting individuals as part of its corporate checks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt won\u2019t just be a question of licensing and a once-off check,\u201d she said. \u201cI mean, the companies have assured us that absolutely they\u2019re committed to respecting the Irish legislation, and they\u2019ll work closely with us, but, from our perspective, it\u2019ll be important that the compliance regime is robust, and that it picks up any breaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of the enforcement piece there are very severe penalties. There\u2019s everything from a notice of improvement, to fines, to suspension of a licence, revoking a licence, and also \u2014in terms of the particular officers, key decision-makers \u2014 there also can be consequences for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charities and sports clubs<\/strong><\/p>\n

In relation to\u00a0charities, and the likes of sports clubs running lotteries, the regulator said the licensing regime for them likely won\u2019t kick in for several years at least.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s one of the last phases, so they\u2019ll continue exactly as they are for the time being,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

While charities have raised concerns about the impact of this process on their activities, Ms Caulfield said she would provide plenty of notice to the sector and try to ensure \u201cas smooth a transition as possible\u201d.<\/p>\n

She also clarified that \u20ac2,000 will be the limit for prize money after which a charity will have to register with the GRAI.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have listened very carefully to the debates, and we hear the concerns of the various charities,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

With the plethora of work now ahead of them, and a heavy responsibility to regulate an industry that causes harm to a significant proportion of the population, Ms Caulfield said this is something that isn\u2019t lost on her or her organisation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really does reinforce the fact that we\u2019ve been given a very responsible role, and it\u2019s important. We owe it to those people to do our job properly, and we\u2019ll certainly be making every effort to do that over the coming years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: https:\/\/www.irishexaminer.com\/news\/arid-41593075.html<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Sean Murray – Mon, 17 Mar, 2025 \u201cIt\u2019s important to realise, in terms of the harms of gambling, it\u2019s not confined to a particular gender. Sometimes it\u2019s considered that it ought to be a certain socioeconomic group or certain educational background. But it\u2019s actually across the board.\u2019 Towards the end of the\u00a0Irish Examiner\u2019s chat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[133,20,119],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gambling","category-others","category-prevalence"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18944\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}