Survey reveals Northern Irish support for online gambling legalisation
More than 50% of respondents back greater online reform while 93% voice support for creation of new regulator
The Northern Irish Assembly should introduce legislation specifically for the online gambling sector, according to 54% of respondents to a new government-led consultation into regulatory reform. Releasing results from a consultation first launched in December 2019, the Northern Irish Department for Communities confirmed 93% of survey participants favoured the creation of a new regulatory body to govern the market. The responsibility for regulating and enforcing gambling law currently lies with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), with 51% of consultation responses indicating that enforcement, if not regulation, should remain under its purview.
A further 51% of respondents indicated their feeling that current consumer protection measures to protect Northern Irish punters were insufficient and needed to be revised. In respect of gambling advertising in NI, 52% of respondents claimed current gambling advertising rules should be brought into line with advertising standards used in the UK, with a further 27% calling for further restrictions to be introduced regardless. Similarly, 65% of responders voiced their support for stake and prize limits to be amended in line with standards used in the UK. A vast majority (97%) indicated they would favour NI operators providing funding to deal with research, education and treatment of problem gamblers. In respect of betting, 84% of participants said the NI assembly should impose a statutory levy to augment this objective. Eighty-five percent of respondents said gambling contracts should be legally enforceable, with 51% of survey participants claiming that existing licence term limits were inappropriate and should be changed. “The minister for communities is considering the report and will announce her intended way forward in the near future. In the meantime, the department is grateful to all those who responded to this consultation,” the Department for Communities said. The survey results are based on 382 responses.