Today the legislation of Ireland is in critical condition and has almost no control and impact on the gambling sector in the country. Robbie Butler, Chairman of the Northern Ireland Assembly All-Party Group, made this statement. He is confident that it is high time to strengthen control measures over the industry:
"Gambling is not just fun. It harms the health and well-being of the population. The government has a responsibility to completely update the regulatory framework. Online gambling in Northern Ireland must be regulated. The last act that regulates the industry was adopted in 1985. Obviously, there are nothing about online gambling".
The politician is confident that now the Irish gambling business is at its peak, uses the latest innovations and is available to every local resident. And while slot machines bring excellent income to their owners, the state gets losses. The Northern Ireland Assembly needs to tackle the cause, not the consequences of gambling.
Reform at the legislative level provides the protection of the most susceptible citizens from the harmful influence of the gambling business and full control over service providers.
The initiative of the Northern Ireland Assembly, in turn, was supported by the international non-governmental charitable foundation CARE and the specialized gambling harm reduction organization GambleAware.