Abstract
OVERVIEW OF IRISH GAMBLING LAWS
Betting
Ireland's gambling legislation dates back to 1853 when the Betting Houses Act 1853 made betting illegal. Reflecting Irish society's attitude to betting at the time, the stated purpose of the 1853 Act was to suppress “a kind of gaming [that] has of late sprung up tending to the injury and demoralization of improvident persons by the opening of betting houses.”
In 1931 the Irish government moved away from a complete prohibition on betting and introduced the Betting Act 1931 to regulate betting activities. The Betting Act 1931 still regulates bookmaking in Ireland today, though it was updated in 2015 to include remote bookmakers. The 1931 Act requires bookmakers, regardless of wherever in the world they are located, to obtain an Irish license and pay Irish betting duty if they have customers in Ireland. The legislation contains few consumer protection obligations and does not detail any technical specifications.
Gaming and lotteries
Gaming and lotteries are dealt with under a separate piece of legislation, the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956. In contrast to betting, gaming is still prohibited in Ireland except in very limited circumstances such as in licensed amusement halls and at funfairs. Even though private members clubs offering casino games, do operate in Ireland and are permitted to do so by the authorities. The Gaming and Lotteries (Amendment) Act 2019 (the 2019 Act) was signed into law on December 21, 2019 (see Supplementary Data). That legislation makes a number of changes to the licensing regime for gaming and lotteries. The 2019 Act doesn't expressly refer to online gaming or lotteries. However, it's arguable that it must be applied to both land-based and online gaming and lotteries taking place in Ireland. As the legislation doesn't expressly state that it has extraterritorial effect, it has to be interpreted as only applying to gaming and lotteries operated from within Ireland, and not to offshore operators.
Although the 2019 Act was signed into law on December 21, 2019, it has not yet been formally commenced. Before the Act can come into effect, the Minister for Justice must issue a Commencement Order to formally commence the Act. This seems to have been delayed due to a general election which took place in Ireland on February 8, 2020. At the time of writing, it's not yet clear what party or parties will form the next government, or who the next Minister for Justice will be. As a result, it is unclear when the 2019 Act will be commenced.
THE GAMING AND LOTTERIES (AMENDMENT ACT) 2019
The 2019 Act has been described by government as an “interim measure,” pending a broader legislative reform for the Irish gambling industry and the introduction of the proposed Gambling Control Bill. The broader reform is expected in the next one to two years, though this timetable could be delayed or indeed expedited, depending on the composition of the next government.
As stated above, the changes under the 2019 Act are primarily aimed at land-based gaming and lottery operators, and arguably only apply to online gaming and lottery activities which take place in Ireland, and not off shore. Usefully for online lottery operators, the 2019 Act removes the restriction in the 1956 Act on players in Ireland sending money outside of Ireland for use in a “foreign lottery.” Although this section was never actively enforced, offshore lottery operators can take comfort from the fact that their players are no longer at risk of committing an offense under Irish law.
The following are some of the other main changes introduced by the 2019 Act.
Gaming permit
The 2019 Act gives the police the power to issue a gaming permit which will allow a limited form of gaming to take place. The legislation does not refer to online gaming, but it's arguably also open to the police to issue a gaming permit for online gaming that takes place in Ireland, subject to compliance with the conditions in the legislation.
The conditions attached to the new gaming permit are very restrictive and the permit is only likely to apply to very limited forms of gaming, such as poker tournaments and charity gaming. These conditions include a maximum stake of €10 per player and a maximum prize limit per player of €3,000 (including multiple games in the same event or where more than one game is played at the same time).
One of the main difficulties we perceive with the gaming permit is that it can only be issued for games where “… the chances of all players, including the banker, are equal.” This would appear to rule out most traditional forms of casino gaming. The legislation does not provide any guidance on what type of games might be allowed under the permit, and the decision as to whether or not a game meets the legislative criteria, appears to be left to the local police superintendent. There is a risk that this could lead to different decisions being taken in different police divisions, though operators have a right to appeal any refusal of a permit to the District Court.
The 2019 Act also expressly prohibits gaming machines from being operated under a gaming permit.
Changes to stakes and prizes for gaming machines
One of the main changes under the 2019 Act is an increase to the permitted stakes and prizes for gaming machines. The 1956 Act provided for a limit on stakes of three cents and prizes of 50 cents. These limits are now being increased to a €5 limit for stakes and a €500 limit for prizes per game under the 2019 Act. Gaming machines can still only be operated in licensed amusement halls or funfairs under a gaming license issued by the Revenue Commissioners and only in areas where the local authority allows licensed amusement halls or funfairs. There were calls for the powers granted to local authorities to be repealed under the 2019 Act, but these were resisted by government.
While there is no doubt that the increased limits will be welcomed by gaming machine operators, the new limits on stakes and prizes still fall short of the stakes and prizes that some operators had been offering, albeit in apparent breach of the legislation. When the new legislation is commenced, it's likely that there will be a renewed focus by the Revenue Commissioners on enforcing the new limits, and so operators will need to take that into account.
Lotteries
The 2019 Act also introduces new categories of lottery permits and licenses. It allows certain lotteries that are held for charitable or philanthropic purposes to be operated without a license. Lotteries which form part of a marketing promotion will no longer need a license or permit provided the total value of the prizes is not more than €2,500.
For larger lotteries, operators will still need to apply to either the local police for a permit (where the maximum prize is €5,000 or less), or to the District Court where the weekly prize limit is capped at €30,000. The legislation also provides for an annual lottery with a prize cap of €360,000 to be operated under a lottery license issued by the District Court.
New age limits
The 2019 Act introduces a new age limit of 18 (up from 16) for all lottery and gaming activity and for tote betting. This is consistent with the requirement on betting operators not to accept bets from people under the age of 18.
PROPOSAL TO OVERHAUL IRISH GAMBLING LEGISLATION
The Irish government has acknowledged for many years that regulating rather than prohibiting gaming is the preferred option. There is a broad political census in favor of regulation versus prohibition. It is likely that this will be reflected in the next program for government, regardless of which party or parties form the next government. For a number of years, there has been cross-party support for reform, though many of the opposition parties were critical of the slow pace of the reform.
The outgoing junior Minister for Justice with responsibility for gambling reform had suggested that an independent regulator, with up to 120 staff, could be established in “sleep mode” as early as 2020. That was with a view to the regulator being up and running before the proposed Gambling Control Bill is enacted. It is also understood that the government has expanded its consideration of how to best establish an independent regulator. This is a further indicator of an institutional willingness to now proceed with the necessary reform. With some or all of the opposition parties now looking likely to form the next government, it remains to be seen whether or not they will proceed with setting up the regulator this year.
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL
Supplementary Material
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