Northern Ireland Assembly All Party Group on Reducing Harm Related to Gambling Chair Philip McGuigan MLA and Vice Chair Robbie Butler MLA pictured at the launch of a recent inquiry report at Parliament Buildings Stormont

Following the recent enactment of the Gambling Regulation Act in the Republic of Ireland (ROI), the Northern Ireland Assembly’s All Party Group (APG) on Reducing Harm Related to Gambling is calling for the Westminster Government to take action now to restrict gambling advertising.

Welcoming the signing into law of the Gambling Reform Act, APG Chair Philip McGuigan MLA said:

“This is the first comprehensive reform of gambling law in the south of Ireland in almost seventy years. These changes, including a 5.30am to 9.00pm watershed on when gambling advertising can be broadcast on television and radio and a de facto ban on gambling related social media content, will provide protection to those who may be at risk of gambling harm. The legislation also specifically prohibits advertising for gambling which may be attractive to children.”

Robbie Butler MLA APG Vice Chair stated:

“Northern Ireland now stands alone as the only jurisdiction on these islands without updated gambling legislation since the advent of the internet.

“We know that unfortunately the Northern Ireland executive does not have sufficient legislative time in this assembly mandate to take forward a gambling bill. However, there are steps that the government at Westminster can take now to protect the public in Northern Ireland and elsewhere from gambling harms.

“The Government has the power under existing laws to introduce restrictions on gambling advertising in the UK similar to those in the Republic. This would prevent our children from being bombarded with gambling related marketing during sports broadcasts and those already experiencing gambling harm from being targeted by gambling companies on social media.”

The new gambling legislation in the Republic will introduce tight restrictions on gambling marketing. It gives the new Irish gambling regulator the power to prescribe the times, places and events where gambling advertising can be broadcast, displayed or published, and allows the authority to specify the frequency, duration, and amount of advertisements that can be shown.

The legislation introduces a watershed on gambling advertising for television and radio between 5:30am and 9:00pm. It prohibits advertising gambling content on a social media or a video-sharing platform unless the recipient is following a social media account of a gambling company.

The Act specifically prohibits advertising that is likely to portray gambling as attractive to children. It also includes a ban on the sale of branded clothing or merchandise intended to be worn by children, or at events which may be attended by children. This is an important step given that a recent cross-border report by Maynooth University and Ulster University showed that young people across the island of Ireland are exposed to “extremely high levels of gambling marketing” through sports programmes and social media content.

Importantly, the new rules in ROI put the spotlight on the urgent need for the British Government to act now to protect the population in both GB and in Northern Ireland, where gambling-related marketing has become a normal part of consuming sport. 

According to new research from Bristol University, the number of betting adverts during the opening weekend of the Premier League season has almost trebled this year, compared to last. And a new report from the Lancet Public Health Commission on gambling says that given the global and boundary-spanning nature of the gambling industry, international coordination on regulatory approaches to harm prevention will be necessary.