The Wait for Online Regulation in Ireland Appears Over

Apparently, Ireland is about to introduce gambling regulation. The news comes on the heels of Irish media reports that after circulating without resolution in Irish government since last July, an Irish Gambling Control Bill to modernize the country’s regulatory framework is “imminent.”

Offshore Operators Required to Have Licenses

Updating the Betting Act 1931, the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956 and sections of the Finance Act 1992, the Irish Gambling Control Bill will require offshore operators to attain Irish licenses before offering betting services to Irish customers. The requirement will call for a further betting duty to be imposed on betting transactions involving all Irish customers. At this juncture, only bookmaking shops are required to pay a 1 percent transaction duty on all bets. The new bill would require all remote and land-based operators, bookmakers and betting exchanges to pay the same tax. Current estimates place the total at €1.6 billion ($2 billion) gambled by Irish customers online annually.

€25 Million in Taxes to be Raised

An estimated €25 million in taxes will be raised, as estimated by Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan, with €11m to go towards the country's horse and greyhound racing industries and a social responsibility fund to combat problem gambling behaviors.

More specified regulation will include the establishment of consumer complaint and age verification procedures, with more controls on advertising, and further provisions for land-based casino licenses. The number of new casinos will be capped at 40, and the number of tables per casino capped at 15.

Urgency Spikes

At present, the urgency level of regulation seems to have spiked: a study released last week claimed that problem gambling had jumped 250 percent in the last three years, mostly attributable to the rapid rise of mobile technology as a betting tool.

The sum total of the measure, according to long-time regulation proponent Noonan, would enable the government "to continue to build for a better future with a new economic model," while improving individual living and working standards.