London calls for restrictions on gambling advertising in Northern Ireland

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The All-Party Group on Reducing Gambling Harm said legislation was lagging behind that in the rest of the UK and Ireland.

The UK Government has been urged to restrict gambling advertising in Northern Ireland. Members of the Stormont Assembly All-Party Group on Reducing Gambling Harm have written to Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, asking her to take action to protect people in the region.

In a letter sent at the end of Safer Gambling Week, MPs including the group’s chair Philip McGuigan (Sinn Fein) and Robbie Butler (UUP) asked Ms Nandy to address the gap in relation to online gambling advertising.

They said Northern Ireland was an outlier in the UK in not having updated gambling legislation since the advent of the internet.

While gambling policy has been devolved, MPs are concerned that there is not enough time left in the current Assembly mandate to pass a new bill.

The Irish Parliament recently passed a law introducing tough restrictions on gambling marketing. This includes a new Irish Gambling Regulatory Authority, which has the power to set times, places and events at which gambling advertising can be broadcast, shown or published.