An Irish professor who specialises in the treatment of problem gambling has noted that the country’s gambling industry must implement swift changes following the Government’s proposal of stricter measures to address rising gambling addiction among local residents. As previously reported by Casino Guardian the Gambling Regulations Bill (GRB) would establish an independent gambling regulatory body that would control and oversee the entire licensing process, and would also impose sanctions on companies that violate rules, and would work on tackling problem gambling and gambling-related harm.
Colin O’Gara, a clinical professor who specialises in gambling addiction treatment and has applied to become part of the Joint Oireachtas Committee that is engaged with discussing the bill, raised a red flag, saying that gambling has been flourishing and is now presented as a normal everyday activity among certain age groups in Ireland.
The intervention of Professor O’Gara, who heads the addiction services at the Dublin-based St John of God Hospital, comes right before the beginning of the biggest event in the racing calendar – the Cheltenham Festival – on March 15th.
According to him, there are between 50,000 and 250,000 Irish residents who are affected by problem gambling and gambling-related harm, with a large number of their family members also suffering a direct negative impact from their addiction. Professor O’Gara noted that the local authorities must work on reversing the aforementioned normalisation of gambling and sports betting in the country as soon as possible, and said this could happen only with strong support from the country’s Government.
Gambling Industry Regulatory Body Must Be Provided with Enough Powers, Professor O’Gara Says
The clinical professor explained that the appointment of a new gambling regulator is a positive change. However, Professor O’Gara noted that the authority must be given enough powers in order to make a difference in the existing status quo. He suggested that a meaningful levy must be imposed on the sector without a further delay, because this will allow the authorities to develop some much-needed services to help the ones suffering gambling-related harm.
Professor O’Gara believes that Ireland desperately needs some specialised services for dealing with gambling disorders, because it currently has no dedicated inpatient units. The country also does not have enough outpatient treatment facilities.
According to the gambling addiction specialist, allowing the Irish gambling industry to expand had proven detrimental to some people, causing them serious mental disorders and, in some cases, leading even to suicide. He has asked the country’s Government and the new regulatory authority to consider the massive proliferation of gambling in Ireland in recent years across a large number of platforms.
He shared that, in his opinion, this proliferation of gambling had led to the normalisation of gambling among certain age groups in the country, especially among young men who associate watching sports with betting on such events. Some young children in Ireland are unable to make a difference between gambling and sports and truly believe that they are the same, or at least, sports and gambling are connected.
Professor O’Gara has called for the authorities to suspend so-called fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) from Ireland, claiming that the gambling machines are too addictive and could ruin people’s lives. He insists on providing the new gambling regulatory authority with the actual power to revoke licences and enough resources in order to carry out its regulatory function.
- Author
Daniel Williams
