Unanimity is rare in Irish racing but the impending gambling legislation being produced by Minister of State James Browne appears to have been met by universal dismay.
Such a state of affairs will only convince critics that Browne must be doing something right, which in itself underlines a wider sense of reputational chickens coming home to roost.
The Justice Minister is putting finishing touches to the long-awaited Gambling Regulation Bill that promises to drag betting legislation into the modern digital age. He has framed proposed restrictions on bookmaker advertising in terms of public health, particularly in relation to children and problem gamblers.
Part of the legislation is a total ban on gambling advertising on TV broadcasts in Ireland between 5.30am and 9pm. Such ads have been part of a ruthless pursuit of mug punters by bookmaker conglomerates for a long time. Few would bemoan their absence. They’ve been the face of a corporate pursuit of the bottom line that has ruined lives for a small but significant minority.
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But racing and betting are uniquely two sides of the one coin and the ban has prompted bosses of both specialist cross-channel racing channels shown in Ireland to warn that their coverage here will be unviable if it goes head. Sky Sports and Racing TV, which has day-to-day coverage of Irish racing behind a paywall, have said a separate Irish stream is a non-runner.
It conjures the ludicrous prospect of day-to-day Irish racing being available to everyone except those living in Ireland.
It’s an unintended anomaly of the proposed legislation but a serious aberration for racing. Both Sky and RTV insist they’re not bluffing. Home to view pictures is a small part of the current €47 million per annum media rights deal but there are obvious consequences for the sport’s longer-term revenue as well as immediate profile concerns.
Various interest groups have argued the specialist racing channels deserve an exemption. These efforts began some months ago. But they have become increasingly desperate as Browne refuses to budge on the issue. It has been pointed out to him that such derogations apply in Australia. The Wexford Fianna Fáil TD has basically said that Ireland isn’t Australia, so there.
Browne sticking to his guns has a lot of racing brass sweating up. Lobbying on the basis that being able to watch live racing is a pretty fundamental pillar of a €2.5 billion industry hasn’t worked so far. It’s no odds-on shot it eventually will work either since Browne could be on to a winner in the popularity stakes.
No one’s going to cry for bookmakers if the regulatory wild-west they profitably exploited for so long gets a much-needed clean up. The gambling industry had the chance to sort itself out and is paying the price for failure to do so.
But considering how often it has fouled its own reputational nest, including yesterday’s anabolic steroids revelations involving billionaire businessman and trainer, Luke Comer, there may not be many tears for racing either if it gets caught in the legislative tide.
Wider public perceptions of the sport have been dented by repeated self-inflicted injuries in recent years. That its sense of entitlement doesn’t appear to have been shaken hardly makes it an obvious candidate for any ‘victim’ role. In fact, on the approach to a general election, not caving to racing’s special pleading may prove a vote winner, particularly as part of a plan to put manners on bookies.
Curbing their hard sell has been long overdue but it is finally occurring both here and in Britain where different kinds of restrictions are proposed. Cross-channel affordability checks on people’s private finances to prevent them spending too much are, on the face of it, well-meaning but perhaps also a misguided over-correction to what remains for most punters an enjoyable leisure pursuit.
Perhaps it is inevitable in what is virgin territory for legislators everywhere that efforts to redress the situation risk ignoring nuance.
To those immune to the appeal of rolling bones of chance, drawing a distinction between betting and fixed-odds gaming might seem an obscure point. But the reason fixed-odds products are pushed so hard is because firms are guaranteed to win. Betting the horses and other sports is still, theoretically at least, a scenario where knowledge and skill can win out.
Add in wider debates about freedom of choice, as well as state interference in private lives, and you get a fluid situation on the gambling ground. In such circumstances, presuming legislative perfection first time out presumes too much. Because on the face of it, and despite any public scepticism, racing’s case for a derogation on specialist channels hidden behind a paywall is not unreasonable.
Apparently RTV sells about 13,000 subscriptions in Ireland. It’s no mass market nor one designed to seduce hundreds of thousands of vulnerable young people into reckless gambling. The unfortunate reality too is that all problem gamblers will need to do to get their fix of live racing is sign up to bookmaker sites.
It’s just one practical consideration that will encourage hopes of an eventual old-fashioned political compromise on a very new issue. However, swimming against the popular tide, as well as looking for friends in a Government already funding it to the tune of almost €73 million this year, should get racing to ponder on how pricey expended reputational capital can be.
Something for the Weekend
Saturday’s St Leger, could supply a cross-channel good news story if Desert Hero (3.35) manages to win the season’s final classic in the royal colours. He’s unproven at the trip but should stay and his credentials in terms of ground versatility and a progressive profile are hard to knock.
