In May I put in a request to the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) for an interview with the chief executive, Anne Marie Caulfield.
I got a reply to say the regulator was too busy at that time to do media interviews but “we would be more than happy to arrange an interview in the coming weeks and months”.
It went out of my head until last week when an interview with Caulfield appeared in the Racing Post. The piece mainly focused on the impending blanket ban on gambling advertising during daylight hours and how that might affect the racing industry.
Both of the dedicated racing channels have said they could not guarantee that they would continue to provide an Irish service under those conditions. Caulfield, like Minister James Browne, who introduced the Gambling Regulation Act, believes otherwise. She made the analogy of snooker’s traditional commercial relationship with tobacco companies. When cigarette advertising was banned other sponsors had to be found.
The regulator has been ridiculed in some quarters for comparing that situation with racing and betting. Okay, it wasn’t a great example to pick. The link between smoking and snooker back then was purely about event sponsorship. The link between racing and betting is much more intrinsic. Nearly everyone who goes racing or watches racing places a bet at some stage, and racing would not take place (as we know it) if there was not betting on it.
But it has already been stated clearly by the Minister that race sponsorship will not be affected by the advertising ban. So this is a moot point and I just felt the ensuing outrage missed the point.
The advertising ban is now law and all that remains to be decided is how strictly it is going to be implemented once the new licensing arrangements are in place in roughly a year’s time. Move on. Personally I’ll be delighted to see the back of those shockingly awful Tony Cascarino ads.
Look, the racing channels will not go off the air in Ireland. I have no doubt the channels and betting companies will find creative ways to keep the betting brands in view. I can think of several devices which could be employed but, to be honest, I don’t think Caulfield & Co are going to be spending their days watching Racing TV to see if a bookmaker representative breached the guidelines while reporting on market movers at Downpatrick. Once the betting ads are gone from the terrestrial channels when the kids are watching then the problem is 99% solved.
In a doomsday scenario, where Racing TV seriously said they were pulling the plug on their Irish service, I believe the Irish racing industry – either officially or unofficially – would intervene before you could say “dodgy box”.
Now, I am more interested in finding out what the regulator is going to do to protect the ordinary punter who enjoys a bet within their means. I have just reapplied for my interview with Anne Marie Caulfield and am told it will happen soon. Here is a sneak preview of some of my questions.
Let me know if you can suggest other relevant questions.