Ireland’s Department of Justice Ready to Support the Implementation of the Gambling Bill

After it rejected a proposal for a series of measures aiming to protect gamblers from spending more than they can afford at the start of the year, the Department of Justice in Ireland has announced that it was ready to help the Gambling Regulation Bill progress in its 2023 Justice Plan.

Over 140 Actions Part of the 2023 Justice Plan

The Justice Plan for 2023 was officially released on April 6 and it introduces more than 140 headline actions that would help build safer and more powerful communities in the country.

The plan consists of a series of updated actions in fields like anti-social behavior, policing, and family and civil law, among others. It is based on the previously recorded progress under the Justice Plans released in the past two years.

As the third and also the last installment of plans meant to explain the goals belonging to Ireland’s 2021-2023 statement of strategy, the 2023 Justice Plan continues last year’s Plan that originally introduced the Gambling Regulation Bill.

As explained by the country’s Minister of State for Law Reform James Browne T.D., the Bill represents one of the top priorities that would ensure progress in the current year.

The Gambling Regulation Bill Aims to “Meet the Challenges of Gambling Responsibility“

Browne called the Bill which was originally published last December an important milestone as well as much-anticipated legislation needed to “meet the challenges of gambling responsibly in 21st century Ireland.”

The minister added that the 2023 Justice Plan plans on seeing the Bill advance through Oireachtas, which is the country’s Parliament. This would help set up the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, which would be called Údarás Rialála Cearrbhachais na hÉireann.

As a main goal, the Bill would display the necessary framework for a “robust regulatory and licensing regime for the gambling sector in Ireland”.

Provided the Bill would pass, it might ban all forms of promotional activities related to gambling. Plus, operators would be forbidden to use free bets as stimuli to convince new players to join them and gamble for real money.

DoJ to Offer Management Services for Establishing the Regulatory Authority

The Department of Justice has announced it was prepared to show its support for the successful implementation of the Gambling Regulation Bill in the following months.

Namely, DoJ will help introduce a complex system for regulations and licensing designated for the gambling sector in the country by offering the necessary management services that would set up the Gambling Regulatory Authority.

The Authority will be responsible for the implementation and close supervision of the laws of the Gambling Regulation Bill.

The same department will also help establish the new chief executive officer Designate of the Authority while overseeing the Bill’s ongoing progress on its path toward “enactment and commencement later this year”.

Last September, Minister Browne appointed Ms Anne Marie Caulfield as the new CEO Designate of the Gambling Regulatory Authority with the intention of facilitating the preparatory work in advance of the establishment Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland.