Irish gambling ads ban causes stir prior to committee debate

Irish Senator, Mark Wall, is demanding that Ireland issue a comprehensive ban on gambling advertising.

This call has been made in lieu of the debate to be held on the Gambling Regulation Bill by a Select Committee on Justice.

Though highly likely to pass committee approval, the legislation will then only require final approval from both houses in the Oireachtas, the Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann respectively.

This legislation proposes a watershed banning of gambling advertising between 5:30 am and 9:00 pm. However, these strenuous regulations are believed insufficient by the Irish Senator.

Senator Wall’s objections

Wall argues that the volume of gambling ads is significantly impacting vulnerable individuals, particularly those with a gambling addiction.

The Senator and his Labour Party peers are so concerned with the situation that they have introduced their own bill on the Prohibition of Advertising. This was instigated in the hopes of implementing a wholesale restriction on advertising but has failed to make progress since March of last year.

Regardless of this, Wall has still claimed that the primary gambling bill’s advertising-related proposals are unclear and require further scrutiny.

He stated: “Too much grey area remains, with key elements left purposely vague. We cannot allow the betting industry to capture this piece of legislation that aims to regulate an industry that is currently a law unto itself.”

Regulus Partners

A blog post has also commented on the perceived lack of clarity derived from the bill, claiming that the bill sufferers from “serious drafting issues” which are feared “to undermine the purpose of the legislation”.

Highlighting 4 key concerns, Regulus Partners, then went on to cite marketing and inducement restrictions as a further issue. Stating that the manner in which the bill deals with this is prescriptive and vague, likely to incite an industry rife with legal challenges and claims.

Further support for stringent legislation

Despite Labour Ireland’s status as the 5th largest party in the Oireachtas, its push for more stringent regulation of gambling advertisements has had a far larger influence on numerous organisations also pressuring the government.

An Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) review has been commissioned by the Department of Justice and the Implementation team for the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI).

This review has already yielded suggestions that legislation could be introduced to restrict gambling advertising in sports as an effective method of protecting some of those who are especially vulnerable to gambling harm.

Further to this, the ESRI has also found that problem gambling related to gambling addiction causes “serious harm” that the review believes is currently being underestimated.

Regulation will be the responsibility of the GRAI however, this will not come into effect until later this year.

Industry response

This bill has already received inevitable criticism from industry leaders in the Irish gaming market, including Sky Sports Racing, which has stated the ban from 5:30 am to 9:00 pm as initially appearing in the legislation would render its operations “economically unviable in Ireland”.

Betting and horse racing’s relationship

The bill also spreads to advertising and sponsorships on television, radio and online within the allotted time, however, Sky has explained that 97 per cent of its viewership is over the age of 24, clearly and concisely aimed at adults. Thus Matthew Imi, CEO of Attheraces, the broadcaster of Sky Sports Racing, stated:

“There is also ample evidence to show that horseracing is not a driver of problem gambling in a way that other betting and gaming products are.”

Imi would go on to explain the uniquely symbiotic nature of horse racing and sports betting share, therefore a significant amount of promotional communication on these channels is betting-related. He described the effects as being potentially devastating.

“Not only would this penalise the multitude of horseracing fans in Ireland but it would also have a negative impact on the industry as a whole, which we know is worth €2.4bn to the Irish economy and which supports more than 30,000 jobs.”

Racecourse survival in jeopardy

Paddy Dunican, Kilbeggan racecourse’s managing director has also come out in support of his industry, while still acknowledging the need for regulatory protections, he re-iterated the serious financial consequences that these could have in the bill’s current form.

This will inevitably spill over from the media directly to the racecourse’s revenue itself, in many ways threatening not just profitability but even survival.

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