The Gambling Regulation Bill 2022 is heading before the Dáil this week.
By Ciaran McLoughlin
Lottoland has expressed its concern over the Minister of State at the Department of Justice in Ireland refusing to meet the company to express some of its concerns.
According to the Irish Times, the Gambling Regulation Bill 2022 is due before the Dáil this week, before it is set to go forward to the Seanad for further debate.
Lottoland VP for UK and Ireland, Mike Kirwan, sent a letter to Minister James Browne back in March, wishing to seek clarification over a number of the comments he had made on RTÉ Radio 1’s Drivetime show, which Kirwan stated were incorrect.
In the letter, one of the points said Browne had claimed stake and win limits already applied to Lottoland’s operations now, but Kirwan explained this was not correct.
There were other concerns raised from the radio interview and Kirwan explained in the letter that he wanted the opportunity to meet Browne to receive clarification on his comments, discuss Lottoland’s reservations over the Bill and to offer assistance and propose solutions with regards to the issue of problem gambling.
The lobbying firm for Lottoland, 360, A Finn Partners Company, this week published something on the matter looking to seek clarification on Minister Browne’s public comments and a meeting request to discuss the Gambling Regulation Bill 2022 for Lottoland.
Kirwan said in a statement sent to Gambling Insider: “We are concerned that Minister Browne has met with colleagues across our sector, yet so far, despite our consistent efforts to meet, Minister Browne has refused to discuss the Gambling Regulation Bill with us.
“Considering our position in this sector, we have a duty not only to comply with all relevant regulations in our industry, but to provide insight to policymakers. The Minister and his department have failed to discuss with us any of the implications we have outlined.
“We have reservations for example, regarding the drafting of this Bill, with various interpretations of definitions such as “bet “and “betting” leaving our sector unsure of the application of provisions in this Bill. These interpretations are crucial in the application and compliance of the law.
“The Government should be worried about the impact the blanket measures will have on the revenue generated by the industry. In the UK, the government’s white paper outlined an estimated drop of 8 – 14% in online Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) as a result of similar but targeted measures, which we can only infer will have similar or worse implications in the Republic of Ireland.
“We find it deeply concerning that a business making consistent efforts to ensure their compliance with the law, cannot sufficiently communicate with those creating it. We urge Minister Browne to meet with us to discuss our concerns.”
In other lottery news, Lottoland Deutschland has received a German licence in recent weeks from the nation’s lottery brokerage.