Oireachtas committee queries lottery betting ad exemption in new gambling Bill

A high-level Oireachtas committee is questioning why proposed legal curbs on gambling advertising do not apply to the National Lottery.

The Gambling Regulation Bill proposes banning betting ads from 5.30am to 9pm on all media in the Republic.

The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice has written to Minister of State at the Department of Justice James Browne, the Bill’s promoter, asking why the ban does not extend to the National Lottery and the Cash Machine game run by radio stations Newstalk, Today FM and 98FM.

James Lawless, Fianna Fáil TD and committee chairman, told The Irish Times that the committee felt it was unfair that the restrictions did not apply to the National Lottery while they would be imposed on other businesses.

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“They are going to be constrained in what they can do and how they do it, but the National Lottery can operate outside that framework,” he noted.

[ National Lottery operator sold to French company for €350m Premier Lotteries holds exclusive rights to operate Irish lotto until 2034 ]

Mr Lawless acknowledged specific legislation governs the State-owned lottery, which is subject to its own regulation and licensing system.

However, he argued that the gambling ad restrictions proposed for the private sector, originally recommended by his committee, should still apply to the National Lottery, whose operator, Premier Lotteries Ireland, is a commercial organisation.

Similarly, he said the Cash Machine game run by Bauer Media-owned radio stations in the Republic should also face ad curbs.

The TD maintained that the game was gambling as people paid to take part in a competition with a cash prize.

Contestants text their answers at a cost of €2.50 to participate and can win tens of thousands of euro. The media group says the competition operates within Irish law.

The committee wrote to Mr Browne, a Fianna Fáil party colleague of its chairman, earlier this month. The Minister of State’s office acknowledged the letter, but he had not replied by the weekend.

Mr Lawless stressed that the committee supported the legislation’s aims. These include reforming outdated laws governing the Republic’s betting business.

The Bill creates a commission to regulate the industry, boosts consumer rights, bids to protect vulnerable people and establishes a fund to combat problem gambling.

[ Senior civil servant appointed as State’s first gambling regulator ]

The advertising ban, in section 141 of the Bill, is based on recommendations by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, published after hearings where gambling companies and industry representatives gave evidence.

The State owns the National Lottery, which Premier Lotteries Ireland operates. In 2022, it raised €260 million for good causes including charities, community groups, sports, culture and other beneficiaries.

The National Lottery Act 2013 governs the lottery, while the independent Regulator of the National Lottery oversees it, including supervising its adherence to an advertising and promotion code of practice. The organisation did not comment.

Last year, French national lottery business, La Française des Jeux, bought Premier Lotteries Ireland from its owners, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, An Post and An Post Pension Fund.

[ Paddy Power owner takes a punt on Minister making changes to new betting laws ]

The Gambling Regulation Bill is due back before the Oireachtas later this month, when it will be possible for the Minister or TDs to table changes to the proposed law.

The Department of Justice pledged that it and Mr Browne would continue to engage with the committee if required.

A statement added that neither the Minister of State nor the department would comment as the Department of Public Expenditure was responsible for the National Lottery.