Late last week Ministers Harris and Browne published Justice Plan 2023. A framework building on Plans in 2021 and 2022 and outlining over 140 specific actions to continue building stronger, safer communities in Ireland.

One of those elements is the previously unreachable Gambling Regulation Bill (GRB) [2022]

which was published Friday, 2 December 2022, and has had a better-than-average chance to become law since that time.

The legislation marks a watershed achievement in Irish history as it sets out to repeal existing gambling law in Ireland which is seen by many as antiquated and incompetent in nearly every respect.

In order to become law, the legislation must move through the parliamentary process including approval by Oireachtas – two houses of the national parliament and a signature by the president,

Establishes Licensing and Regulatory Body

The new framework establishes a regulatory and licensing body that is currently being referred to by the working name of the “Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland” (GRAI) [Údarás Rialála Cearrbhachais na hÉireann].

Minister of State with responsibility for Law Reform and Youth Justice; Browne said: “Justice Plan 2022 delivered significant progress across the justice system and, in particular, it delivered one of my key priorities, to publish the Gambling Regulation Bill 2022.

“As committed to in the program for government, this bill is a true milestone and long-awaited legislation. It is an important and necessary bill and reform, designed to meet the challenges of gambling responsibly in 21st century Ireland.”

The Department of Justice (An Roinn Dlí agus Cirt) is headed up by Minister for Justice: Simon Harris, TD; Minister of State for Youth Justice and Law Reform: James Browne, and Secretary General of the Department: Oonagh McPhillips. The DOJ will participate in managing the creation of the GRAI.

Process to be Facilitated by Department of Justice

According to a report in Gaming Compliance News, the DOJ said: “We will also support the establishment of the Gambling Regulatory Authority, and the CEO designate of the authority, as we progress the Gambling Regulation Bill towards enactment and commencement later this year – introducing a robust regulatory and licensing system for gambling in Ireland.”

The priority to “support the establishment of the Gambling Regulation Authority” is found in the second section of Justice Plan 2023 under the goal, “Improve access to justice and modernize the courts system”.

The announcement of priorities, support, and goals noted in its conclusion: “It is important to note that the milestones and achievements reflected upon from 2022, as well as the actions and objectives for the year ahead, provide just a snapshot of the substantial program of work being delivered on by the Department of Justice and across the sector comprising 29 bodies and agencies”.

Source: Ministers Harris and Browne publish Justice Plan 2023, Ireland Department of Justice, April 6, 2023

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After legal victories in Pennsylvania where slot-like skill games have been deemed legal by judges while law enforcement officials have been criticized for seizing them and the cash they contain without cause, the same types of games are still under fire in the state of Kentucky.

After failing to pass legislation that would have outlawed the games a year ago, another bill intent on defining them as gambling devices was tabled by the House of Representatives on Friday but returned to the floor Wednesday, picking up momentum to pass on a vote of 64-32.

House Speaker David Osborne made a motion Wednesday to resume discussion on House Bill 594 after rumors of its demise were celebrated by proponents of the so-called gray machines over the weekend.

Skill Games are Currently Legal

Kentucky law does not directly address the games which rely on elements of player skill to award prizes, placing them in a gray area of gambling unless the bill makes it to the governor’s desk and receives his signature or a veto is overridden. The bill went to the Senate for deliberation as this year’s legislative session is about to come to an end.

Most of the “work” on passing the bill appears to have occurred behind the scenes as there was very little discussion on the House floor before lawmakers voted 2:1 to outlaw the machines which are found in hundreds of locations across the state,

Speaker Osborne said in a statement after the bill passed the House: “Today’s House vote sends a clear message that there is no place for gambling entities that skirt the law in order to flood Kentucky with unregulated casino-style gaming without limit or oversight,” according to local reports.

Representatives of the Kentucky Merchants and Amusement Coalition, which is one of the entities that lobbied to keep the bill from becoming law expressed their disappointment in the action and called the development “unfortunate” after “so many Kentucky small business owners contacted their legislators about the benefits of skill games.”

The group’s president, Wes Jackson said in a statement: “We are hopeful that our supporters in the Senate will put this dangerous ban bill to rest, putting the needs of actual Kentuckians, not the profits of big business, first.”

Lottery Official Fear Reduced Sales

One of the most powerful opponents of the machines is the Kentucky State Lottery, which claims that the skill games hurt its sales. The lottery, launched in 1989, claims it has contributed over $4.4 Billion to education in Kentucky.

Louisville’s WDRB reports that 27 cents of every dollar gambled on the lottery goes to the commonwealth for college scholarships and grant programs, six cents is shared with retailers, six cents is spent on “administrative costs”, and 61 cents is paid back to winners. It’s unclear if the sale of infrastructure such as bridges helps the Kentucky Lottery Corporation make ends meet.

Proponents of the machines have argued for regulation of the machines that are deployed in multiple states and Mike Barley, chief public affairs officer for skill gaming machines developer Pace-O-Matic stated last week: “Our legal skill games serve as an important lifeline to small businesses with fraternal clubs. They provide consistent, reliable, and supplemental revenue for these establishments at a time they need it most.”

Lottery officials maintain there are over 1,500 of the machines in locations where the Kentucky Lottery sells its products.

It’s unclear whether lottery sales have surged along with other forms of gambling in Kentucky as is the case in most states as the economy has roared back to life after a pause for the pandemic. Other states with commercial gambling as well as skill game machines scattered throughout their landscapes, such as Pennsylvania have seen record gambling revenues. Even Nevada has posted record revenue for January after a record-breaking year as private enterprise works hard to feed the appetite of a populace with rapidly evolving views on gambling.

A spokesman for Kentuckians Against Illegal Gambling said in a statement: “Passing HB594 is the only certain and viable option to prevent every restaurant, gas station, and convenience store in the commonwealth from becoming a mini-casino.”

Osborne’s party has a supermajority in both houses of congress so even a veto by Kentucky’s Democratic governor is unlikely to be of much help to proponents of the machines.

Source: Proposal to ban slot-like machines clears Kentucky House, AP News, March 8, 2023

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The Indian Gaming Association and Pechanga.net of America presented a Tribal Gaming Seminar at ICE in London last week. One of the presentations to attendees focused on learning lessons from recent attempts, failures, and successful launches of online casino gaming and sports betting in the U.S.

This was done in light of what legacy gaming providers such as tribal operators are willing to participate in as far as regulatory models and to demonstrate the evolving attitudes of tribal operators looking for a win-win situation with other stakeholders.

The seminar outline suggests that new operators need to secure the cooperation of current stakeholders in the gambling industry before launching products in those states, some of them large and potentially very lucrative, like California where the Pechanga Band of Indians operates Pechanga Resort Casino near Temecula, California. The casino is one of the largest resort casinos in America with over 5,400 slot machines and about 200,000 sq ft of gaming space.

Tribal and Commercial Propositioned Both Failed in November

Two separate ballot propositions for sports betting failed to pass in California during the last regular election when residents were asked whether or not they wanted online betting – a positive result could have eventually led to online casino regulation as well. One of the propositions was backed by commercial operators and the other one was primarily backed by the state’s tribes.

Commercial global brands were unable to push their referendums across the finish line, largely due to a lack of understanding about the tribes’ unique positions in the markets as well as the political clout they heft, along with the revenue goals the legacy operators seek for their constituents – the tribal members.

The synopsis stated that the tribes are not opposed to innovation, modernization, and expansion into new verticals and channels as long as it doesn’t threaten their future participation and involvement in them.

According to an in-depth report on CDC Gaming Reports, when asked how he expects online gaming to change over the next two years, Mark Macarro, Pechanga Band of Indians Chairman, told listeners at the seminar that iGaming is inevitable in the state of California and that Millennials are driving the new gaming channels.

“I think there’s a demographic proclivity to want to play online. It doesn’t exist right now with the Baby Boomers and Gen X. But Millennials are different players and we’re not sure that slot machines will be what they want to play”, he said.

Not in my Backyard Unless I Play Too

Macarro was joined on the panel by California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) chairman James Siva. The CNIGA chairman was also of the opinion that the commercial betting bill was rejected because voters expected the commercial interests to cooperate with tribal gaming interests in the state.

Siva enumerated the number of tribal gaming interests in the US at 270 and noted that 70 of those tribes’ locations are within the state’s borders.

Tribal gaming represents about a quarter of all gaming revenue in the US and 44% of that occurs in California, according to Siva.

“So you break that down and that means that California tribes represent nearly a tenth of the entire gaming market of the U.S. Commercial, tribal, everything”.

He noted that perhaps cooperation or diplomacy may have been a more successful tactic than steamrolling, per see.

“Either they massively underestimated the size and reach of those tribes, both politically and financially, or they maybe had bad campaign consultants”, he said.

Panelists Agree Tribal/Commercial Partnerships may be way Forward.

“I think there’s still a path for tribes and the commercial operators to work together, but it’s going to be a path and relationship that’s decided by the tribes. This isn’t the first time we’ve had commercial entities want a seat at the table as equal to tribes”, Siva said.

This need for commercial entities to respect the sovereignty of the California tribes and negotiate with them for access to California, as they would with legislators and regulators in other states, was reiterated by Macarro, who promised that the tribes would always counter non-diplomatic attempts to launch in the state

“Among the things we learned is that if you have two similar-sounding measures in front of the voters on the same ballot, they will get confused and vote no”, he said.

“So if nothing else changes from the corporates, if they make another run at this without doing a lot of the stuff we talked about as being necessary to be successful, it’ll be regarded as hostile by the tribes. And all we would have to do is put another ballot on the initiative. Confuse the voters, they’ll vote no, and both will go down in flames again”, he said.

Source: ICE London: Tribes tout igaming as ‘inevitable’ future of gambling in California, CDC Gaming Reports, February 8, 2023

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