Gambling Law In Northern Ireland
Gambling reform is in the spotlight right across the UK.
The laws in Northern Ireland have varied from Great Britain for some time.
In Great Britain, the Gambling Act 2005 was introduced to bring together disparate historic gambling laws. The Act ushered in a more liberal and permissive approach, but also gave birth to the Gambling Commission.
Oct 26, 2020 Northern Ireland Speaks Out on Gambling Laws To further rub salt in the wound, services to support the vulnerable are few and far between. It’s for this reason that three-fifth of the respondents pleaded for legal brick-and-mortar casinos. Furthermore, 97% insisted on proactive measures to mitigate societal harm. Sep 24, 2020 Gambling reform is in the spotlight right across the UK. The laws in Northern Ireland have varied from Great Britain for some time. In Great Britain, the Gambling Act 2005 was introduced to bring together disparate historic gambling laws. The Act ushered in a more liberal and permissive approach, but also gave birth to the Gambling Commission.
However, the Gambling Act 2005 did not encompass Northern Ireland and the gambling laws in Northern Ireland remained unchanged. The rules in Northern Ireland have been disconnected from the rest of the UK ever since, and, significantly, the Gambling Commission's remit does not extend to Northern Ireland.
The Department for Communities carried out a consultation on gambling laws between last December 2019 and February 2020. The consultation received around 382 responses, with the majority being from interested individuals, and a quarter being from organisations.
Some of the main headlines are that there appears to be 'strong support' for the creation of an independent gambling regulator (or gambling commission) for Northern Ireland. In fact, around 90% of respondents supported the establishment of such a body.
If you read my recent article about the origins of the Gambling Act and the latest trends in GB, you might be surprised to learn that the majority of respondents in Northern Ireland (around 60%) wanted to see the law being reformed to allow casinos to operate in Northern Ireland, where they are currently illegal.
An even bigger majority (66%) also wanted to see bookmakers and betting shops being allowed to open on a Sunday.
Almost all respondents (97%) agreed that the industry should contribute to 'funding research, education and treatment' for those with gambling addictions.
The Communities Minister is expected to make an announcement on the detailed findings and proposed 'next steps' in the coming weeks.
It is not clear whether and to what extent these steps will tie in to the reforms to gambling laws which are expected in Great Britain.
Stormont will obviously have an eye to developments in the Republic of Ireland and in Great Britain. With the Brexit transition period coming to an end on 31 December 2020, the UK government might see it as an opportunity to try to harmonise gambling laws across the UK - but that might be overly ambitious if reforms are to be expedited on both sides of the Irish Sea.
Gambling updates
Finally, if you're interested in other gambling related posts from the team at Lewis Silkin, you can find more of them here.
'A number of questions have been posed throughout this paper on a range of issues. It will fall to the next administration to make final decisions on gambling reform and promote the necessary legislation.' - Dept for Communities
Market research and innovative polling-based company in Belfast, LucidTalk carried out the latest research on behalf of CARE NI. It is a social policy charity that organizes campaigns for change in gambling laws.
The current gambling legislation in Northern Ireland was approved and imposed back in 1985. However, the denigrator argues that now it is old and not following today’s digital age. As a result, CARE NI has organized a campaign to bring fundamental modifications to the former law. They gathered over 1878 responses through the campaign.
What were the responses given by the Gamblers?
The poll for gambling law reform was conducted when the gamblers and bettors returned to the markets in Northern Ireland after three months. The markets reopened on July 3, 2020, following the COVID-19 pandemic.
LucidTalk asked the gamblers about how they want gambling to be conducted in the country. The majority of the public responded that maximum prizes and stakes online must be regulated by the gambling law. However, 8% of the public said there should be no gambling limit.
Majority of Public Demands for Mandatory Levy
The survey also found that there is extensive support for an obligatory levy on all gambling and betting companies. This would ensure secure gambling across the country. Overall, 90% of people supported the idea of obligatory levy for gambling companies, whereas 5% of people were against the idea of imposing a mandatory levy on those companies.
Moreover, it said that money raised by the charge could be funded to treat the people who are addicted to gambling or who are into gambling-related harms.
A research was conducted by the Department for Communities back in 2017. They observed that the country’s harmful gambling popularity rate was 2.3 %. When compared to England, it was just four times higher.
Gambling Law In Northern Ireland 2020
The harmful gambling practice rate in England is 0.5%, Wales is 1.1% and Scotland is 0.7%. In 2019, the Department of Communities collected the public’s opinion on this problem, but the final report isn’t published yet.
CARE NI offers Secretariat to Northern Ireland’s All-Party Group on minimizing gambling-related harm. Recently it advised the NI Executive to consider reforming the gambling laws.
Immediate Measures to Combat Problem Gambling
Mark Baillie is the Public Policy Officer at CARE NI. According to him, the existing gambling regulations in the country are quite old and belong to a different world when there was no existence of online gambling. As there was three to four months lockdown due to the pandemic. Now, after the reopening of gambling firms, people are more excited to return to gambling practices.
However, in Northern Ireland, people are more addicted to gambling and involved in harmful gambling. This implies that there is an immediate need to reform the gambling laws that will assist in reducing the harmful gambling practices across the country.
The poll made by LucidTalk reveals that the majority of the country’s population supports prize and stake limits on online games. Not just that, they also want a mandatory levy on all gambling and betting companies.
A few days back CARE NI advised the Department of Communities to publish the problem gambling survey, which was carried out last year. It also gave the current survey report for problem gambling.
Moreover, they warn that the gambling industry must act on it immediately, and politicians should consider this issue as their top priority. He also advises supporting vulnerable people who are affected by problem gambling.
Relevant news
Dutch And Maltese Gaming Regulators Signs MoU To Prevent Illegal Gambling
The Purpose of MoU Under the MoU, there will be an enhanced cooperation between the…
read more +Operators Pull Out Japan Casino Plans Amidst Uncertain Gambling Regulations
The casinos needed to submit tedious requirements before legalizing the business and face heavy taxes…
read more +GrooveGaming Extends Contract With BetConstruct
Gambling Law In Northern Ireland Northern Ireland
The success of the merger showed a high demand for online casino products. GrooveGaming exploited…
read more +Gambling Law In Northern Ireland Galway
Chile’s Casino Operators Receives Coronavirus Relief From Creditors, Investors
The gambling industry is among the industries which suffered the biggest losses. The casinos shut…
read more +A Total Of 70 Gambling Ads Have Been Found By ASA, UK in Q2 2020 on Sites Familiar With Young Audience
The authority has not yet declared the names of the operators, which have been running…
Gambling Law In Northern Ireland Dublin
read more +Shape Games Co-Founder Indicates Their Plan To Go Completely Native
Gambling Law In Northern Ireland Canada
The co-founder states that this transformation is in response to tech-giant Apple's revolutionary announcement made…