No more weekly club lottos?
According to Junior Justice Minister David Stanton, many club lottos and local raffles may be operating illegally.
Speaking with the Irish Independent, Stanton raised concerns that many local raffles, including ones raising funds for some cash-strapped local GAA clubs, were operating without the necessary approval or in breach of the rules regarding competition prizes.
Stanton raised significant concerns over regulation in the sector and voiced his belief that the current system may well be out of date and no longer fit for purpose.
“Some commentators have described it as the wild west out there,” he said. “Every time you pull a string in the gambling ball of twine other things emerge. For example, most lotteries at the moment are not legal. Most raffles that occur are not legal. There is a lot of stuff going on out there that is not legal at all.”
In 2013, then Minister for Justice Alan Shatter published the Gambling Control Bill, a proposal which would have led to reform of the betting industry in Ireland. But the bill was not implemented and no significant progress has been made on the issue until now.
Stanton’s comments come as the government attempts to tackle betting legislation this year and eventually create an independent regulatory authority for the gambling industry.
Very little change has come in gambling regulation in Ireland over the past number of years. A 1% betting tax remains, with Michael Noonan extending it to cover online betting in 2015. The levy was already in place for traditional bookmakers but Noonan’s addition two years ago extended it to online as well.
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