Ireland to impose 'heaviest penalties' in Europe on companies that allow children to gamble
The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland made the statement in response to a new European-wide survey that showed a significant increase in young people in Ireland who have gambled in the last year.
The data also showed that rates of gambling among young people here are well above the European average.
'One of the principle aims of the Gambling Regulation Act is to protect young people from the harms of gambling,' the regulator told the Irish Examiner.
'Child protection is one of the key principles of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 and will therefore be a major focus of our work.'
European survey
The EU's Drug Agency on Tuesday published the eighth edition of its European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs.
It surveyed 114,000 students aged 15-16 across 37 European countries including Ireland last year.
While it found that the use of cannabis, cigarettes and alcohol is falling among Irish teens, gambling is on the rise.
In Ireland, it found that 29.1% of young people in that age group had gambled in the last year. This was an increase from 24% in 2019.
This rose to almost a third (31%) of males while it dropped to 27% for females.
Almost one in five males aged 15-16 (19.4%) said they'd gambled online in the last 12 months while 13.6% of females said they had. There were significantly higher numbers reporting gambling in-person, at 27.9% of males and 24.9% of females.
In advance of being granted its powers, the Gambling Regulatory Authority had commissioned the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) to conduct research on gambling in Ireland, including among young people.
A recent study found that online gaming in adolescence and young adulthood 'strongly correlated' with both online gaming and gambling frequency at age 20.
When the Gambling Regulation Act is fully commenced, the country's gambling regulator will have sweeping powers to crack down on gambling operators and dish out significant fines for breaching the law.
Under the law, financial sanctions can reach up to €20m or 10% of a company's turnover, whichever is higher.
A firm allowing a child to gamble will furthermore carry a potential penalty of eight years' imprisonment.
Licencees and owners of gambling websites will not be allowed to sponsor an event aimed at children, an organisation, club or team in which children are members and an event in which the majority of those attending or competing are children.
Separately, an advertising watershed will apply and any advertising that targets children and portrays gambling as attractive will be illegal.
The regulator added: '[We] acknowledge the findings of the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs for 2024 and take note of the findings.
'[We are] committed to fulfilling our mandate as an independent regulatory body, and we will continue to keep public health at the centre of everything we do. This commitment is reflected in our mission to effectively regulate and educate in order to safeguard current and future generations from gambling harm.'
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