Ireland’s attitude to a ‘flutter on the horses’ is wrecking lives |
This week, an investigation – led by Investigate Europe and involving The Irish Times and media outlets in 15 other countries – lifted the lid on Ireland’s role in a vast, online gambling empire. The regulatory issues are stark: the investigation found that Irish authorities granted gambling licences to six companies at the heart of a global network of black-market betting and casino websites. But the human stories are even more troubling – stories of addiction, depression, despair.
Gambling disorder is an addiction similar to alcohol or drug addiction. Like them, gambling destroys lives, ruins families and erodes communities in towns and villages across Ireland.
The trauma from gambling can be transgenerational. If a family home is lost to gambling, the children of that family suffer adversity that may impact their mental health for the rest of their lives.
Traditionally, we have been lenient towards gambling in this country: a flutter on the horses, a bet on a match, a scratch card. But gambling is a problem for one in 30 adults in Ireland, according to the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
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There are particular risks with high-intensity online gambling, which often leads to other forms of gambling, addiction and exploitation. Online, there are no guardrails for the vulnerable.
In the past, there was protracted debate about whether or not gambling disorder was an addiction, similar to alcohol and........