SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan has said Executive parties are saying one thing and doing another on gambling harm.
He was speaking after Executive parties passed a regulation liberalising gambling rules on the same day as supporting an all-party motion on tackling gambling harm, with no action on gambling harm promised in either the Programme for Government or Legislative Programme.
On the morning of 28 January, Executive parties voted through the Gaming (Variation of Monetary Limits) Order (Northern Ireland) 2025, which increased stakes and prizes in betting in registered clubs, with only the SDLP Opposition and smaller parties opposing the measure.
Later in the afternoon, the Assembly debated a non-binding motion on the need for a public health approach to gambling harm, despite the clear contradiction in the two pieces of business.
The Foyle MLA said: “The Executive parties are inviting the contempt of citizens by saying one thing and doing one another on gambling harm.
“This week the Executive pushed through a regulatory change actually increasing stakes and prizes, and then in the afternoon Executive parties blithely voted through a motion lamenting the public health impact of gambling harm in the North.
“This is either incompetence or contempt for the public and for our collective role as legislators. While we wait years to take further action on gambling, lives will be lost.
“The North has the highest numbers of problem gamblers yet no protections are in place to regulate gambling here.
“We were promised by the previous Communities Minister that a regulatory framework would be addressed in secondary legislation, legislation which we haven’t heard a whisper about since.
“In England, Scotland and Wales, plans are in place to introduce a mandatory levy on gambling operators.
“This will generate £100m for the research, prevention and treatment of gambling related harm.
“We’re no further forward on when, or even if, a levy will be introduced here, where arguably the need for such a measure is more profound.
“If the Executive parties take this issue as seriously as they say, they should commit to legislation being delivered before the end of this mandate in the PfG.”
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