Ireland's government is preparing a new gambling law permitting "modest size" casinos, ruling out the possibility of building resort casinos in the country.
Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence Alan Shatter announced that the government has agreed to his proposals to begin working on new legislation to modernise the country’s gambling laws with draft legislation to be presented in the spring.
The existing laws date from 1931 in the case of betting and 1956 for gaming. The new legislation is expected to deal with online and other forms of remote betting and gaming, as well as addressing other loopholes in the system.
"The government agreed with me that it was long past time for a full and comprehensive revision of our gambling laws," said the Minister. "The shortcomings in the current law, for example the absence of any regulation of online gambling, are exposing young people and other vulnerable persons to unacceptable risks. The Exchequer is also being short changed because of the absence of a taxation regime for online and other forms of remote gambling.
"The present laws are not adequate to deal even with aspects of gambling which they were intended to cover. For instance, attempts to curtail unlicensed private members’ clubs, including prosecutions, have been unsuccessful."
No provision would be made for large resort casinos, such as the one planned for Two-Mile Borris in Tipperary, but the law will allow smaller casinos, the number of which will be limited and each application will be subjected to "vigorous" checks.
"Only those promoters meeting high standards of personal and financial probity will be considered for a licence," Shatter said.
The government, he explained, recognises that there is support for a form of casino entertainment - particularly among tourists. The scale of the resort-style projects being planned, however, raises concerns over their potential risks to vulnerable people.
"The government feels it would not be acting in the public interest if through the forthcoming legislation it encouraged or facilitated the larger developments in the face of such real and substantial doubts about their viability," he added.
New legislation will also prohibit fixed odds betting terminals.
