The Stormont Assembly’s all-party group is calling on the UK DCMS to implement gambling advertising regulations.
UK. Legislative Assembly members from Northern Ireland are requesting that London expand British gambling advertising regulations to the region.
On gaming, among other topics, Northern Ireland has devolved policy-making authority. However, a number of MLAs have called for the UK Department of Culture, Media, and Sport to extend British standards for gambling advertising due to the lengthy delays in amending the territory’s gaming laws.
In a letter to DCMS secretary of state Lisa Nandy, members of the Stormont Assembly’s All-Party Group on Gambling Harms Reduction have urged her to “bridge the gap on gambling advertising.” The organization, which has Robbie Butler of the UUP as its deputy chair and Philip McGuigan of Sinn Féin as its chair, said that Northern Ireland is an anomaly in the UK due to its antiquated gaming laws, which do not regulate gambling advertising.
“We urge you to take immediate action on gambling advertising and promotion and protect people across these islands from further gambling-related harm by using your existing powers under the Gambling Act 2005,” they said.
They assert that the public is especially susceptible to the excessive advertising by operators licensed by the Gambling Commission since Northern Ireland has the “highest levels of gambling-related harm across these islands.” In order to safeguard minors and vulnerable individuals, they have requested that Nandy implement additional regulations and prohibit gambling advertising during big sporting events using DCMS’s authority under the Gambling Act of 2005.
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“Our population is not protected by the Gambling Commission, even though remote gambling operators licensed by the Gambling Commission are free to advertise in Northern Ireland because online and broadcast advertising is a reserved matter,” they stated. The implementation of regulations akin to those in Ireland would be extremely beneficial for Northern Ireland, Britain, and Ireland, where British TV is widely watched. “However, you have the power under existing laws to prevent our children from being bombarded with gambling-related marketing during major sports broadcasts, such as Premier League matches, and to prevent those already experiencing gambling harms from being targeted by gambling companies on social media.”
The DCMS has promised to reply to the letter as soon as possible.
Online gambling is still not covered by the legislation, and planned follow-up reforms to address the issue have not yet come to fruition. In 2022, the Northern Ireland Betting, Gaming, Lotteries & Amusements Order of 1985 was amended to allow the opening of gambling establishments on Sundays and to introduce new criminal liabilities. Some MLAs, meantime, were supportive of developments south of the border, where the Gambling Regulation Bill of the Republic of Ireland has imposed curbs on gambling advertising and established a new gaming regulator.
Following the July General Election, the All-Party Group submitted 57 recommendations for a new Gambling Bill; however, the Department for Communities (DfC) informed them that the Assembly lacked the capacity to deal with such a complicated issue.
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