THE Director of Public Prosecutions has withdrawn a case against a Dublin suburban newsagent for selling British lottery tickets.
Last month, Mr Pat Shevlin, the owner of Alan's newsagents shop in Templeogue, was served a summons and charged with the illegal selling of lottery tickets under Section 21 of the 1986 Gaming and Lotteries Act, the legislation which brought the Irish National Lottery into being.
For the past year, Mr Shevlin has been running a courier system between Dublin and Newry, enabling Dublin residents to play the British lottery. He said then "Nobody has been able to tell me for the past 12 months that I am breaking the law. 1 wish somebody would clarify it but all the gardai will say is that it is a grey area".
Mr Shevlin said yesterday he had been told last Friday by the Garda inspector in charge of the case that it was being withdrawn. He attended Dublin District Court yesterday afternoon, where a representative from the DPP's office told the court that the case was being withdrawn, he said.
Mr Shevlin said last night he did not expect any further prosecutions against him. He said he would be issuing a fuller statement later today after consulting his solicitor.
A Department of Justice spokeswoman said last night that in the light of the decision to withdraw the case, the Minister would be "looking at the effectiveness of Section 21" of the 1986 Act.
A newsagent in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford has also been charged with the illegal selling of British lottery tickets. A number of other newsagents around the State have received Garda warnings.
People from outside the United Kingdom can buy lottery tickets in the UK, but they are not sold officially in other countries.