Multiple complaints have emerged about Irish pub holders taking illegal bets at their venues, The Sunday Times reports. In addition, it seems that some of the publicans have been taking advantage of promotional screens installed by bookmakers at their facilities.
Said screens are showing odds on major sports events, encouraging pub-goers to place a bet at a nearby betting shop. However, according to complaints from bookmakers and an Irish support group working with problem gambling customers, pub owners have been taking bets without being authorized to do so.
Paddy Power Betfair, Boylesports, and Bar One Racing, among other major gambling operators, have installed a number of promotional screens at such properties. And their mere presence at pubs is not illegal. However, individuals taking bets without holding the necessary licenses are actually carrying out an illicit activity under the Republic of Ireland’s gambling laws.
Irish Bookmakers Association Chairwoman Sharon Byrne explained that they have become aware of multiple cases of people acting as bookmakers at pubs. Some of them had special rooms where they took illegal bets, others just set up near the promotional screens.
Ms. Byrne even cited an instance of a Dublin chain of pubs that had an employee who accepted bets for each of its facilities around the capital. The gambling executive pointed out that they have been trying to cope with such illegal bookmakers for quite some time.
A number of people acting as bookmakers have even been penalized for their activities. One can be fined up to €150,000 or sentenced to five years in prison, if found to be accepting illegal bets.
Responsible Gambling Concerns
Problem Gambling Ireland, a group campaigning for socially responsible provision of gambling services, said that there have been multiple instances of gambling addicts relapsing due to the illegal betting options offered at pubs.
Barry Grant, Chief Executive of the group, told The Sunday Times that they have been trying to help people with problem gambling behavior by encouraging them to avoid places with nearby betting shops. However, there have been gambling addicts who have turned to their bad habit as a result from the easy access publicans offer to betting. Mr. Grant described such practices as “morally and legally wrong”.
Ireland’s New Gambling Law
Ireland’s gambling industry is currently regulated by laws dating back to 1931 and 1956. The rather obsolete regulatory framework covers a number of gambling options, but does not provide adequate set of rules for the regulation of online gambling.
The Gambling Control Bill was introduced in 2013, aiming to overhaul the nation’s gambling industry. However, the Oireachtas, the country’s main legislative body, has not made much progress on its eventual implementation since then. Earlier this year, signals appeared that lawmakers might be ready to act on the bill.
The Irish Minister of State for Justice, David Stanton, said in May that he would try to advance the legislative piece in the legislature so that it is voted by the end of 2017.
