Calls for gambling watchdog scope to include Irish National Lottery

The Oireachtas committee on justice has been urged to widen Ireland’s new gambling regulator’s oversight to include the National Lottery
Image: Shutterstock

The Oireachtas committee on justice has been urged to widen Ireland’s new gambling regulator’s oversight to include the National Lottery

As reported by the Irish Times, various sources from gambling operators pleaded to politicians to have one singular regulator rather than one for gambling and betting firms and another for the National Lottery. 

Graham Ross, Ireland manager for Lottoland, courtesy of the Irish Times, questioned the viability of having two regulators: “We are seeking that all operators across the entire sector will be included in the new legislation.”

The Oireachtas has proposed a Gambling Regulation Bill that would see the creation of a new gambling authority to oversee the industry. 

However, there is currently the Regulator of the National Lottery office, designed to oversee the lottery operator, Premier Lotteries Ireland’s, conduct.

The regulator has been in the headlines recently when the lottery’s rules were changed to allow a ‘must be won’ draw in the event of five or more rollovers of the maximum €19m jackpot.

It came after the lottery rolled over a staggering 64 times between June 2021 and January 2022. 

The new body is designed to oversee the licensing of companies, impose sanctions on those who flout regulations and help to put tools in place to overcome problem gambling. 

Last month, a report from the Health Research Board detailed that, whilst the number of gamblers in Ireland is dropping, those in low-income areas are more likely to suffer from problem gambling.