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Northern Ireland has commenced preparatory work on its next stage of reforming the country’s gambling laws and is in the process of commissioning a gambling prevalence survey.
The update comes from Gordon Lyons, minister for communities, meeting with members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) from the Stormont All Party Group (APG) for Reducing Harm Related to Gambling on April 30.
The passage of the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (Amendment) Bill in 2022 was the first of two stages to reforming the country’s gambling laws, with a second piece of legislation expected to address online gambling more directly.
Lyons said the remainder of his current mandate would be used to ensure gambling legal changes would be ready to be introduced as soon as possible at the start of the next mandate.
The minister acknowledged “this would be the biggest piece of legislation ever passed by the Assembly”, according to the APG.
In recent months, the APG told Vixio GamblingCompliance that it is "highly unlikely that the legislation would make it through the Assembly in this mandate (i.e., by Q1 2027), given its complexity and scope”.
During the meeting, the APG also informed the minister that it is nearing the completion of its "Inquiry into Public Health Approaches to tackling Gambling-Related Harms in Northern Ireland".
The APG said: “The final report of this inquiry will be launched at a Stormont event on Monday 24 June, and will make a series of recommendations to the Executive.”
The minister confirmed to the APG that the bill would be ready to be introduced "as soon as possible at the start of the next mandate".
Lyons also expressed his support for receiving a share of the upcoming gambling levy in Great Britain, confirming that his department had made representations to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) to get a share of the levy.
The commencement of a levy in Northern Ireland has yet to happen because the Treasury would need to approve any proposal.
The reason for the second stage taking years to implement besides the complexity and scope of the legislation was a two-year suspension of the devolved government in Northern Ireland between February 2022 and February 2024 due to assembly members' disputes over power-sharing arrangements.
