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Ireland is in the “final stages” of its process to select the first CEO of its much-anticipated Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland.
Once the new CEO has been selected, their start date and onboarding process will be decided, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice (DOJ) told VIXIO GamblingCompliance.
Last October, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform sanctioned the recruitment of the CEO, after the General Scheme of Gambling Regulation Bill was approved by the government.
The publication by the Justice Committee of its pre-legislative scrutiny report on the general scheme has been seen as a welcome step in the process by the DOJ.
“Minister Browne has received the pre-legislative scrutiny report and department officials are examining and considering the recommendations and findings of the committee,” the DOJ said.
Free bets, VIPs and “preferential treatment” would be banned under the scheme’s initial format, which also includes a commitment to establish the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland and give it powers to regulate advertising, gambling websites and apps.
Additionally, the government intends to ban the use of credit cards to gamble, impose some spending limits and introduce new requirements around warnings and messaging of gambling products.
However, the Joint Committee on Justice report released in May 2022, which is part of the pre-legislative scrutiny process for the bill, included recommendations for changes in 16 key areas.
For instance, apart from banning all gambling advertising before 9pm, the report calls for an evaluation into how sports advertising and gambling advertising could be “decoupled, particularly in terms of sports advertisements aimed at young people”.
The Irish government has approved the Gambling Regulation Bill for priority drafting and publication. The legislation will set out the framework and legislative basis for the new authority.
“Drafting of the bill is well underway,” according to the DOJ.
