Irish gambling regulator to be up and running by end of 2019
Independent regulator expected to have a staff off 100 employees
The Irish Government has confirmed it wants to have the new independent gambling regulatory entity up and running by the end of 2019.
At a high-level meeting of gambling regulators in Dublin on Wednesday, Irish Minister of State David Stanton said the proposed comprehensive reforms would be of “significant impact” to the Irish market.
“Without a new regulatory authority, sufficiently resourced, there is no prospect of progressing modern licensing and regulation.” Stanton added.
In March the Irish government greenlit two measures aimed at regulatory reform, following the publication of a report by the Inter-Departmental Working Group on the Future Licensing and Regulation of Gambling in Ireland.
The first of these is the creation of the regulator, while the second saw the publication the Gaming and Lotteries (Amendment) Bill (2019), which modernises the earlier act, first instituted into law in 1956.
Stanton highlighted the comprehensive reforms taking place, expressing his frustration at the “slow pace” of developments, but said that the report laid out a “very good blueprint” for reform. However he said that there was “little or no scope for incremental reform” of gambling regulation in Ireland as there are “no realistic pre-existing structures to build on”.
As part of this drive to reform, Irish government officials have met with their regulatory counterparts in the UK, France and Malta, to exchange experiences of regulation and to gain a greater understanding of what is required.
Stanton believes an independent regulator to be an essential part of this process as the Irish Ministry of State “just wouldn’t have that kind of expertise in the department,”.
When pressed about the potential makeup of this new regulatory entity, Stanton said staffing levels could be as high as 100 individuals.
“You are going to be talking about money laundering, you’re going to be talking about problem gambling, enforcement, licensing, research, regulation, inspection, so you could have up to 100 people working in this authority with that kind of expertise,” added Stanton.
Initial Irish government estimates say the turnover of the new Irish gambling market could be between €6bn and €8bn.