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The Irish Government are set to continue driving its initiative to crackdown on gambling machines in Ireland amidst fears the old legislation is outdated.
Revised Maximum Stake and Prizes
A new maximum stake limit of €5 and maximum payouts of €500 are to be introduced. The proposed limit early this year was for a €10 max stake and €750 max payout but Charlie Flanagan, Minister for Justice scaled down the figures in response to protesters from problem gambling groups.The current age for using gambling machines is 16, the government plans to up the age to 18, bringing it inline with the UK legislation. The current gambling legislation in Ireland has been in place since 1956 and now deemed ‘outdated’.
More Needs To Be Done
A number of activists lobbying for regulation changes have expressed they don’t think the proposed legislation changes did not go far enough to tackle problem gambling and further measures are required.The Department for Justice said,” Modifying stake and prize amounts is the only current role of the Minister for Justice and Equality with regard to gaming machines. The proposal had been to raise these amounts to€10 and €750 respectively.”After the Dali committee debate on the 10th July 2019, referring to the update of the stakes and prize amounts, some members felt the proposed maximum stakes and prizes were still excessive. The Minister of State revised the decision and now proposes €5 and €500.A public consultation was launched earlier this year by Irish Government parties to revise the current legislation and create new gambling policies, further looking into the problems surrounding excessive gambling. A public consultation will give an insight in to policies needed to reduce problem gambling in Ireland. Operators in Ireland have already agreed to apply a £2 maximum stake on FOBT’s.