The first “significant changes” in 35 years shall be made to gambling laws in Northern Ireland.
Legislation to permit bookmakers to open on Sundays and Good Friday shall be among the many modifications and it’ll additionally change into an offence to allow youngsters to play gaming machines.
Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey mentioned legislative reform was “long overdue”.
The laws shall be launched within the Assembly within the subsequent few weeks.
A Department for Communities session on gambling laws carried out in 2019 discovered “strong support” for the creation of an unbiased gambling regulator for NI.
It acquired virtually 400 responses. Unlike Great Britain, which has a gambling fee, NI doesn’t
The laws will:
- Create new offences in relation to permitting youngsters to play gaming machines
- Create powers to impose a statutory levy on gambling operators
- Establish a compulsory code of apply for these holding gambling licenses
- Broaden the definition of dishonest to incorporate tried dishonest
- Make gambling contracts enforceable in legislation
- Remove a number of the restrictions on promotional prize competitions
- Permit bookmakers and bingo golf equipment to open on Sundays and Good Friday
- The minister has proposed a two phased method to be able to progress modifications within the present Assembly mandate.
Ms Hargey mentioned gambling regulation had not stored tempo with business and technological modifications.
“It is clear from our consultation that people are content for some of the existing legal constraints on gambling to be relaxed,” she mentioned.
However, she added that the session confirmed the general public believes that “government, the gambling industry and others need to do much more to prevent, control and combat problem gambling”.
She mentioned the primary part would ship tangible modifications in round 17 key areas.
Phase two would require a for much longer timescale and can embrace a very new regulatory framework which is able to regulate on-line gambling, together with gaming machines.
She additionally not too long ago introduced that native voluntary teams and golf equipment will be capable to elevate very important funds by promoting tickets on-line.
In Northern Ireland gambling (apart from the National Lottery) is regulated below the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries & Amusements (NI) Order 1985 (“the Order”).
The laws is “old and complex and has not kept pace with emerging technologies and other changes,” the DfC web site explains.
Source: BBC
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