Alliance legislation to liberalise lottery rules would ‘fuel gambling’ in Northern Ireland - Christian Institute
A new law on lottery regulation proposed by the Alliance Party would fuel harm caused by gambling and “drain charity donations” – The Christian Institute has warned.
North Antrim MLA Sian Mulholland has brought forward plans to liberalise rules on society lotteries – claiming it could “generate millions of pounds in additional funding for good causes” in Northern Ireland every year.
Currently, the province has much stricter rules on lotteries than the rest of the UK – with major players such as the Postcode Lottery not available here.
Ms Mulholland’s consultation on her private members bill says this form of gambling is “an engaging way for individuals to contribute to our society while helping charities become more self-sufficient”.
However, the Christian Institute (CI) says new research conducted by Westminster “offers a stark picture of how harmful” society lotteries really are – adding that they can’t see how Alliance can press ahead with their plans.
The lobby group says Ms Mulholland’s ‘Lotteries for Communities Bill’ would “fuel addiction while diverting money away from the charitable sector”.
“More than half of society lottery participants are ‘at high risk’ of gambling harm, according to new UK Government research. That rises to 87% for those who also use other gambling products”, CI said in a statement.
In response to the Alliance MLA’s argument that society lotteries boost funding for good causes, CI says that gambling on society lotteries instead of giving money direct to charity means £95 less reaches the charitable sector for every £100 spent.
In its response to a now-closed consultation on the bill, CI criticised the plan as “entirely inappropriate”, pointing out that unlike GB, Northern Ireland currently has no gambling regulator.
James Kennedy, NI Policy Officer for The Christian Institute, said: “The last thing Northern Ireland needs is more gambling, This Bill would put vulnerable people at greater risk while delivering a net loss to the charitable sector”.
The Alliance Party has been asked for a response to the criticisms laid out by the Christian charity.