Policy context
1. The current legislation which exists in Ireland to regulate gambling is outdated and in need of significant reform. Legislation currently in place does not provide for a coherent licensing and regulatory approach across all gambling activities (apart from the specific legislation for the National Lottery).

2. Licensing and regulation of gambling in Ireland is based on the following legislation:

• The Totalisator Act 1929 provides for the licensing of Tote (pool betting) operators who operate at horse and greyhound racing courses in Ireland and for their offerings to other international pool-betting operators.
• The Betting Acts 1931 to 2015 provide for the licensing of betting activities. Online bookmakers and betting intermediaries were licensed for the first time under the Betting (Amendment) Act 2015.
• The Finance Act 1975 provides for the licensing of gaming machines.
• The Gaming and Lotteries Acts 1956 to 2019 provide for the licensing of (low value and locally based) gaming and lottery activities (including bingo, raffles, etc.).
• The National Lottery Act 2013 provides for the licensing of the National Lottery and the establishment of a regulator to oversee the activities of the National Lottery operator.

3. There is little or no scope for meaningful incremental reform of regulation of gambling through existing legislation. The Interdepartmental Working Group (IDWG) on Future Licencing and Regulation of Gambling (2019) concluded that the most efficient and cost-effective means of achieving the comprehensive reform that is needed would be to introduce new overarching legislation. This new legislation would regulate all forms of gambling in Ireland (other than in relation to the National Lottery, which is currently regulated separately). This should be done by building on and updating the proposed provisions in the 2013 General Scheme, having particular regard to recent developments in the sector and in the wider community.

4. The Minister for Justice has limited regulatory authority under the Gaming and Lotteries (Amendment) Acts 1956 to 2019. In particular, the Betting Acts 1931 to 2015 and the Gaming and Lotteries Acts 1956 to 2019 have little or no provision for the appropriate modern regulation and compliance oversight of the activities in the wider gambling sector. While the Betting (Amendment) Act 2015 provided for a clear means of attaining a licence for online bookmakers and betting intermediaries, this Act was intended to be temporary in nature pending the enactment of the Gambling Regulation Bill. The proposed new legislation would provide for regulatory oversight of these activities by the Gambling Regulatory Authority once it is established.

5. Due to the level of technological advancements, the speed of innovation and the evolving nature of services and products available from gambling providers, as well as the expectation by members of the public of the availability of gambling services in a modern and computer-literate society, any laws that are introduced to regulate gambling must be both robust and sufficiently flexible to keep in touch with such advances. The IDWG noted that oversight of the activities provided for under the Betting Acts 1931 to 2015 and the Gaming and Lotteries Acts 1956 to 2019 are dispersed among a number of different tax administration and regulatory bodies...