Irish Bookmakers Association

Lobbying Organisation Irish Bookmakers Association

Date published 23 Sep, 2021

Relevant Matter Public policy or programme

Public Policy Area Justice and Equality

Period 1 May, 2021 to 31 Aug, 2021

Specific Details Outlining publication of Voluntary Code for Safer Gambling

Intended results To outline how most Bookmakers operating in Ireland have agreed to an industry-wide ban on the use of credit cards, both online and in shops, for Irish customers, and have also agreed to a pre-watershed whistle-to-whistle advertising ban for live sport. The two initiatives are part of an updated Code of Practise for safer gambling introduced by the Irish Bookmakers’ Association’s which outlines a comprehensive set of commitments across a range of player protection measures

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Sharon Byrne

Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?) No

Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign? No

Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client? No

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Email (1)

The two initiatives are part of an updated Code of Practise for safer gambling introduced by the Irish Bookmakers’ Association’s (IBA) which outlines a comprehensive set of industry commitments across a range of player protection measures. All IBA members, including Boylesports, Flutter Entertainment, Entain and Independent operators will adopt this latest version of the Code. They will be joined in this by other major operators, including Bet365, Betway, The Kindred Group and many more. The Code represents a set of minimum commitments by the industry, which are drawn from best practice elsewhere and reflect the particular circumstances of the Irish market. Operators can and do in many cases, go above and beyond the provisions of the Code. We believe these are important changes for customers and represent the single widest industry initiative seen in Ireland since the introduction of Safer Gambling Week. We hope that those few operators who have not endorsed the Code will do so ASAP.

Designated public officials lobbied

The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them. As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.

James Browne Minister of State (Department of Justice)