Draft Gambling Act 2005 (Operating Licence Conditions) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 Draft Gambling Levy Regulations 2025

Jim Allister Excerpts

Wednesday 29th January 2025 General Committees

[Jim Allister (North Antrim) (TUV)]

It is a pleasure to serve under you, Mr Twigg.

Could I take this opportunity to draw attention to a conundrum that exists in my part of the United Kingdom? Any company in Northern Ireland that wishes to advertise online gambling needs a licence from the Gambling Commission. None the less, the Gambling Commission insists that it should not perform any regulatory function in Northern Ireland. In consequence, there is no regulatory function and no control of online gambling, which is a growth industry. However, it has been established that Northern Ireland has an above average problem with gambling.

It could be said that gambling is a devolved matter; indeed, to the extent that I have set out, it is. However, the Northern Ireland Executive have utterly failed to establish any regulatory control, and the present legislation allows regulation only of terrestrial gambling, not of online gambling. I therefore ask the Minister to impress on the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland the fact that it needs to get up to speed and to bring in regulation to control online gambling and terrestrial gambling. Yesterday, in this vacuum of no regulation and no oversight, the Northern Ireland Assembly increased some maximum stakes. That is untenable.