Ireland is finally preparing to begin work on reforming its outdated gaming legislation.

Irish Minister for Justice, Equality and Defense Alan Shatter, in announcing the move last month, said, “The government agreed with me that it was long past time for a full and comprehensive revision of our gambling laws. The shortcomings in the current law, for example, the absence of any regulation of online gambling, are exposing young people and other vulnerable persons to unacceptable risks.”

Shatter said the treasury is missing out “because of the absence of a taxation regime for online and other forms of remote gambling,” and that current legislation is “not adequate to deal even with aspects of gambling which they were intended to cover.”

The new legislation is expected to permit casinos of “modest size.”

While the announcement held good news for many, it destroyed the hopes of others when the minister said that no provisions should be included for large casino resorts. Reasons given for the position ranged from a concern for the long-term success of such projects to a lack of resources to effectively oversee a casino resort industry.

Shatter said, “The government feels it would not be acting in the public interest if through the forthcoming legislation it encouraged or facilitated the larger developments in the face of such real and substantial doubts about their viability.”

The news was especially bad for the €460 million project known as the Tipperary venue. The proposed leisure complex development from entrepreneur Richard Quirke had included a 6,000-square-meter casino to go with its horse and greyhound tracks and non-gaming facilities.

The Irish Examiner reported that a spokeswoman for the Tipperary venue said Quirke would meet with architect Brian O’Connell and local independent legislative Deputy Michael Lowry to discuss options, including a substantial scaling back of the project.

One option would be to go with a smaller casino, which the new legislation is expected to allow.

Beside the casino and racing components, the 800-acre project was to include a 500-room hotel, a health spa, swimming pool, equestrian center and 18-hole golf course. Some 2,000 jobs were to have been created.

The Irish Times quotes Lowry as saying, “I’m disappointed, particularly in the context of the announcements that we’ve had regarding job losses this year.”

Besides resort casinos, the new legislation is expected to prohibit the fixed-odds betting terminals currently so popular in U.K. betting shops. Effectively a variant of slot machine, FOBTs offer virtual sporting events with life-like graphics, the outcomes of which are determined by a random number generator.

Also covered will be online, mobile and other forms of gaming not dependent on physical venues.

By GGB Staff

Staff writers for Global Gaming Business magazine. Las Vegas, Nevada.