Ireland eyeballs new regulatory authority for gambling

Lawmakers in Ireland are busy at work creating a new regulatory body that will oversee the nation’s gambling industry.It’s a move that’s been a long time coming, but is still a long ways from becoming a reality.
Ireland’s vision for an authority to oversee the gaming is spelled out in a new report titled, Inter-Departmental
Working Group on Future Licensing and Regulation of Gambling, which was overseen by Minister of State, David Stanton.
For example, the report lays out a framework for updating the country’s gambling laws which have been described as, “quite out of date.” For example, one section of the report outlines a plan to raise the stakes on Irish gaming machines. Under the current rules, gambling machines stakes are fixed at a maximum of 10 cents with a maximum payout of 50 cents. Under the proposed rules, those stakes would rise to €10 with a maximum payout of €750.
Whether or not this will lead to an increase in problem gambling is anybody’s guess. If it does, however, part of the new rules cover a plan to create a new fund, financed by operators, to help study and treat problem gambling. One factor that’s built in to curb problem gambling is a proposed weekly and monthly limit for gamblers. (How that would be enforced at land-based casinos is not mentioned in the report.)
All told, Ireland’s current gambling regulations are quite outdated and the country is long overdue for an overhaul in this area. That said, the new regulatory body is not set to become a reality until sometime in 2020.