Is Gambling Illegal In Northern Ireland
As casinos are still illegal in Northern Ireland, players have it difficult to find offline facilities where they can enjoy their favourite casino games. There is the option to play on gaming machines located at betting shops in Northern Ireland. The maximum allowed stake, however, is merely 30p and the biggest win one could enjoy is £8. When it comes to the Republic of Ireland the law that they follow when it comes to gambling is the 1956 Gaming and Lotteries Act. According to this Act all casino gambling is considered illegal but private clubs are exempted from this act. So this has made national casinos possible while the rest of the international casinos are kept at bay.
Results of a recently-held consultation show that there are many supporters of the idea of an autonomous gambling regulation for Northern Ireland. The consultation on gambling laws that was held by the Department for Communities in the period between December and February resulted in almost 400 responses.
The Minister for Communities in Northern Ireland Deirdre Hargey is expected to make a statement in the upcoming weeks. It is supposed to outline the future steps of the government towards an independent gambling regulation. Unlike the United Kingdom, where gambling is regulated by the local Gambling Commission, there is no such jurisdiction in Northern Ireland.
On Wednesday, departmental official Michael McAvera announced before the committee of the Stormont’s Department for Communities that there were 382 responses to the recently-held consultationfedu. Most of them were from individuals, while about a quarter of the responses came from different organisations.
Overwhelming Support for Independent Gambling Regulation in Northern Ireland Surprises Stormont Officials
McAvera also shared that 9 out of every 10 respondents of the consultation were in favour of creating a gambling regulatory body in Northern Ireland. About three-fifths of those people also believed that the law should allow casinos to operate in Northern Ireland. The departmental official also reported that two-thirds of the consultation respondents agreed that the bookmakers and betting shops’ opening hours should be relaxed. This way punters will be able to place sports bets on Sundays.
Despite the huge support for an independent betting regulatory body in Northern Ireland, about 97% of the respondents also agreed on more serious education, research, and treatment of serious gambling issues.
Currently, casinos are considered illegal in Northern Ireland and many Stormont officials were surprised by the huge support of the gambling industry. Back in 2014, the former minister Nelson McCausland was firm in his decision to not approve the launch of a casino in Belfast. The Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the Upper Bann Jonathan Buckley also shared that the very fact that there is a serious push for the legalization of casinos in Northern Ireland is concerning.
Other MLAs also agree that there is a need for gambling regulations that will take the risk of gambling addictions seriously and will protect the vulnerable people in Northern Ireland.
The full results of the consultation on gambling laws will be revealed in a few weeks. After that, the government will make a decision whether there will be any revisions of the legislation, resulting in a change of the casino scene in Northern Ireland.
As casinos are still illegal in Northern Ireland, players have it difficult to find offline facilities where they can enjoy their favourite casino games. There is the option to play on gaming machines located at betting shops in Northern Ireland. The maximum allowed stake, however, is merely 30p and the biggest win one could enjoy is £8. Meanwhile, players in the Republic of Ireland can place a maximum stake of €5 and enjoy a payout of up to €500.
- Author
Daniel Williams
Market research and innovative polling-based company in Belfast, LucidTalk carried out the latest research on behalf of CARE NI. It is a social policy charity that organizes campaigns for change in gambling laws.
The current gambling legislation in Northern Ireland was approved and imposed back in 1985. However, the denigrator argues that now it is old and not following today’s digital age. As a result, CARE NI has organized a campaign to bring fundamental modifications to the former law. They gathered over 1878 responses through the campaign.
What were the responses given by the Gamblers?
The poll for gambling law reform was conducted when the gamblers and bettors returned to the markets in Northern Ireland after three months. The markets reopened on July 3, 2020, following the COVID-19 pandemic.
LucidTalk asked the gamblers about how they want gambling to be conducted in the country. The majority of the public responded that maximum prizes and stakes online must be regulated by the gambling law. However, 8% of the public said there should be no gambling limit.
Majority of Public Demands for Mandatory Levy
Is Gambling Illegal In Northern Ireland Now
The survey also found that there is extensive support for an obligatory levy on all gambling and betting companies. This would ensure secure gambling across the country. Overall, 90% of people supported the idea of obligatory levy for gambling companies, whereas 5% of people were against the idea of imposing a mandatory levy on those companies.
Moreover, it said that money raised by the charge could be funded to treat the people who are addicted to gambling or who are into gambling-related harms.
A research was conducted by the Department for Communities back in 2017. They observed that the country’s harmful gambling popularity rate was 2.3 %. When compared to England, it was just four times higher.
The harmful gambling practice rate in England is 0.5%, Wales is 1.1% and Scotland is 0.7%. In 2019, the Department of Communities collected the public’s opinion on this problem, but the final report isn’t published yet.
CARE NI offers Secretariat to Northern Ireland’s All-Party Group on minimizing gambling-related harm. Recently it advised the NI Executive to consider reforming the gambling laws.
Immediate Measures to Combat Problem Gambling
Mark Baillie is the Public Policy Officer at CARE NI. According to him, the existing gambling regulations in the country are quite old and belong to a different world when there was no existence of online gambling. As there was three to four months lockdown due to the pandemic. Now, after the reopening of gambling firms, people are more excited to return to gambling practices.
However, in Northern Ireland, people are more addicted to gambling and involved in harmful gambling. This implies that there is an immediate need to reform the gambling laws that will assist in reducing the harmful gambling practices across the country.
The poll made by LucidTalk reveals that the majority of the country’s population supports prize and stake limits on online games. Not just that, they also want a mandatory levy on all gambling and betting companies.
A few days back CARE NI advised the Department of Communities to publish the problem gambling survey, which was carried out last year. It also gave the current survey report for problem gambling.
Moreover, they warn that the gambling industry must act on it immediately, and politicians should consider this issue as their top priority. He also advises supporting vulnerable people who are affected by problem gambling.
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