NEWS Ireland: legit at last?


Dublin says “enough already” to private pseudo-casinos...and may soon be licensing the real thing


Talk about changing your mind. In Ireland, where sports betting, Bingo and the like are national pastimes but the few casino-type establishments have up to now had to endure a vague limbo status as private members’ clubs, the Department of Justice and Law Reform has issued proposals for permitting both large and small casinos, saying that the current regime – largely based on the 1956 Gaming and Lotteries Act and 1931 Betting Act – “really has its origins in a 19th century outlook that gambling is a vice”.


Indeed, the civil servants who penned the report even have the open-mindedness (or chutzpah, if you suspect its timing is not entirely unconnected with the Dublin government’s empty pockets) to marshal responsible- gambling arguments in favour of legalising casinos, saying that “responsible-gambling measures can be hard-wired into the licensing conditions. Money which would have been spent in such a casino will not, in the absence of such a place, be spent on non-gambling activities. It is more likely to be spent on other forms of gambling, and more than likely on offshore, remote gambling, which may be unregulated.” As for resort casinos, they say, “by definition the majority of the customers will come from outside the immediate locality. Therefore, the economic benefit to the local region is maximised, and the negative effect in terms of problem gambling is minimised.”


The logic of that might be questioned (why is problem gambling less of a problem if the customer has travelled to indulge?). What can’t be doubted, however, is that the new recommendations – part of a report that proposes a complete overhaul of the country’s gaming environment including Bingo, lotteries, online gambling and amusement arcades, stemming from a consultation which began in May 2009 – have been thought out in sufficient detail that, if the parliamentary will is there, casinos could become a reality on the Emerald Isle very soon. The ministry anticipates creating two new types of casinos: registered, and resort. And those private members’ clubs would cease to be – only fully-fledged casinos would be permitted to offer casino-style gaming. Registered casinos would house no more than 15 gaming tables (although others would be allowed for Poker tournaments) and the number of slots would be limited to three per table. Slots without tables would not be permitted, and because “easier and more effective regulation and control can be exercised over a single large undertaking, than a multiplicity of small locations...a minimum size is proposed so that [registered casinos] do not proliferate”. Registered casinos would be required to offer food-and- beverage service, as well as non-gaming areas where customers could relax. But alcohol would not be permitted


6 FEBRUARY 2011


on the gaming floor, and “cast-iron arrangements would have to be made to ensure that such venues did not become all-night drinking emporia masquerading as casinos”, the ministry frets, before admitting “this is probably not likely as the cost of supporting a casino licence from liquor sales would not be a feasible proposition”.


Resort casinos could have as many as 1500 slot machines


At the other end of the scale, resort casinos “would involve multiple lifestyle experiences with a casino as an important part of the overall development. Casinos incorporated into a resort-type development would be extremely large, comprising, perhaps, up to 5000 square metres of floor space.” The ministry does not specify the number of tables that might be permitted in these venues, but speaks of “a very large number of gaming machines, perhaps as many as 1000 to 1500”. Once again, resort casinos “would also have to offer other customer services, such as live entertainment, dining and refreshment areas”.


Licences for resort casinos would be granted for a long


period, such as 15 years, and operators “would be guaranteed that no other such facility capable of competing directly would be licensed. This would not, however, rule out the licensing of small-scale registered casinos in the general area.”


That’s not, we suggest, the language of an administration that’s being reluctantly forced to allow a little gaming against its better judgement. More likely, it’s Dublin-speak for “bring ’em on!”.


Jobs for the boys


The Irish plan calls for the creation of a unified regulator for all forms of gambling apart from the National Lottery, called the Gambling Control Unit and based within the Department of Justice and Law Reform. A separate body would be established to hear appeals on the department’s licensing decisions.


The Revenue Commissioners would no longer issue licences, although minor regulatory roles might remain for district courts and for local authorities. Personal licences would be required for individuals holding certain roles in gaming businesses. Licence fees, which would be additional to any tax, would be “designed to cover the entire cost of overseeing ongoing compliance with the terms of [gaming licences], most particularly in the areas of social responsibility obligations, maintaining appropriate gaming machine standards, maintaining appropriate records, meeting appropriate anti-money-laundering standards, [and] compliance with age-verification procedures”.


INBRIEF


I GAVE AT THE OFFICE Rank Group is continuing its charity fund-raising for Marie Curie Cancer Care in 2011, after reaching its 2010 target of £200,000 two months early. The efforts of the gaming group, whose brands include Mecca Bingo, G and Grosvenor Casinos, and Rank Interactive, will fund 12,500 hours of in-home care for terminally ill patients, according to the charity. Ten thousand Rank employees took part in the fund-raising efforts.


MOLTO BENE Atronic’s Sphinx, Mystic Pearls and Princess of the Amazon are proving to be the top-performing games among Italian AWPs, according to the vendor. The firm entered Italy’s AWP sector this spring, adapting its Harmony cabinet from a casino-oriented design to one more suitable to that market. Its platform for Italy is provided by Electronic Center, while distribution is handled by Marim and Win-Tek.


PSSST The confidential intelligence line operated by Britain’s Gambling Commission, which the regulator says was “designed to allow gamblers, licensed operators and sports people alike to tip off the authorities on illicit gambling”, received more than 120 calls in its first six months. “The largest topic area for calls has been in the area of illegal gaming machines supply,” it observed.


NOT HERE YOU WON’T Sands China is appealing to the courts in Macau after the Chinese special administrative area’s government rejected its application for sites 7 and 8 on the Cotai strip. Sands had planned four casino hotels for the two sites, with a total of 6000 rooms. Its other land on the strip is apparently unaffected.


ONE OF THE FAMILY FremantleMedia has incorporated its gaming division into FremantleMedia Enterprises, its main brand-extension operation, and named Simon Murphy as Head of Gambling. Murphy, a veteran of IGT’s WagerWorks and Million 2-1 operations, is interviewed on page 34 of Casino International magazine this month.


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