The Irish government is hatching yet another plan to tighten the noose on the country’s betting operators.
A new measure seeking to force betting operators to close the accounts of problem gamblers will be introduced on Tuesday as part of the government crackdown on Irish bookmakers, according to an Irish Examiner report. The proposal, which is expected to be presented to the cabinet by Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan, would lead to the establishment of an independent gambling regulator to penalize erring gambling firms.
Political observers believe that the new law will give the regulator power to force gambling operators to freeze the accounts of cash-strapped problem gamblers who aren’t capable of repaying their gambling losses.
The state regulator may also deploy undercover agents posing as problem gamblers in order to check whether the bookmakers are faithfully complying with and implementing the rules that the government has set.
Even casino operators aren’t safe, as the measure calls for the creation of a new licensing system for the casino sector, as well as render fixed-odds betting terminals illegal.
The measure will also set new limits on gambling advertisements on TV and online.
The new law was said to be the response of the Fine Gael-Independents coalition to the Fianna Fail bill, which seeks to outlaw advertising aimed at glamorizing gambling and will ensure that bookmakers are more socially responsible.
Proponents of the new measure claim that they only want to prevent problem gamblers from losing thousands of euros every month. Due to the restrictive nature of the new proposal, proponents are now bracing themselves for criticisms from gambling operators and players over a person’s right to choose how they spend their money.
If there’s one consolation for gambling operators, the Fianna Fail bill has been left untouched to gather dust for several years now. It is likely that the new gambling bill will suffer the same fate as the Fianna Fail.
