Irish republican and democratic socialist party Sinn Fein has called on the Irish Government to ban TV ads promoting gambling during the watershed and also lambasted the government for doing nothing to prevent gambling problems.
Outlined Proposals
Sinn Fein has clearly outlined a series of proposals to aid the industry’s regulation on addiction, recovery, and wellbeing according to spokesman Thomas Gould. He states the current gambling law is ‘outdated’ and allows younger people to become more exposed to gambling advertisements, and feels the sector needs modernisation, to “take gambling regulation from the dark ages”
Ban Gambling ads during the Watershed
The proposal includes banning all gambling advertisements on TV and radio between the hours of 6 am to 9 pm which also includes casino site ads on other platforms.They also insist a new independent gambling regulator be brought in, although the Irish government is already looking to create this type of authority. Gould stated governments had already failed to provide adequate policy to protect underage and the vulnerable and failed to deliver on previous promises.Mr. Gould said Ireland has the highest rate of underage gamblers between the age of 15-16 in the whole of Europe. The policy at the moment allows gambling operators 72 hours to verify the age of a player after the initial bet is place. That’s three days of potential gambling for underage players and Gould insists lawmakers must take less time.Gould has already brought to light that more than 55,000 people in Ireland currently have a gambling problem and age verification should be the top priority in the new proposed gambling bill. “Gambling comes under justice, where we believe addiction should come under help. And that’s one of the key points that we want to bring forward.”