MINISTER FOR Justice Brian Lenihan has decided to delay making any decision about legislating on unregulated casinos and to seek the creation of an all-party Oireachtas consensus on the controversial issue.
His predecessor, Michael McDowell, commissioned a report on the subject, which was given to the Department of Justice last summer - but ministers have shied away from making final decisions on it.
However, the report strongly recommends against the construction of any super-casinos, such as those planned by the British government during Tony Blair's reign, and scrapped subsequently by the current prime minister Gordon Brown, The Irish Timesunderstands.
The document also notes the growing scale of the business internationally and domestically, and its potential for tax revenues, along with noting the dangers that exist for encouraging gambling addiction.
The gaming industry had believed up to now that the Government would move next month to reform the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956 and regulate Irish-based casinos, including those operating online from Ireland.
Although the Department of Justice has remained silent on the issue, it is understood that the Minister for Justice believes that no simple solution exists, and that a cross-party consensus must be achieved if any progress is to be made.
Casinos in Ireland get around the existing law by operating as private members' clubs.
Mr McDowell had declared his intention to see all of them closed, but he was eventually forced to back down on this.
