The Case for Irish Gambling

It was recommended by the newly formed Ireland Casino committee to reform the outdated gambling laws to benefit from a lack of competition from other countries where online gambling is illegal, most notably the United States with the UIGEA bill in place.
Formed in 2006, the Ireland Casino committee says that a "window of opportunity is present with the passing of recent United States prohibition of online gambling". They support regulating gaming sites in an effort to curtail minors accessing the games as well as possible criminal activities from taking place.

Ireland's Minister of Finance, Brian Cowen is in favor, mentioning generous tax breaks and the ability to boost the country's financial standing in the European Union. Meanwhile, the Minister of Justice, Michael McDowell argued that not all Irish citizens are comfortable with the idea of legalizing online casinos. Reminding constituents that online casinos are far harder to regulate and control then land based casinos, he is staunchly against the reform.

In 2007, it was formally declared that Dublin had become the top choice of location for North American companies to relocate, with the Irish capital proclaiming that in the first year, over 300 new jobs had been created.

Scheduled for October 13 - 14th of this year, a conference to discuss the options set forth by the Committee will take place. Mainly, the discussion will center on the outdated laws stemming from 1956, which perhaps discourages future investors, and where to go from this point on. This conference will be attended by gaming industry chiefs, EU regulators, operators and gaming law experts.

The Ireland Casino Committee has been lobbying for a change in the law following the release of an official report on the matter in July.