Irish owners' group implore government to reconsider ramifications of impending Gambling Regulation Bill

The Association of Irish Racehorse Owners (AIRO) has urged legislators to reconsider the implications of the impending Gambling Regulation Bill, warning that it would have an "adverse effect" on owners outside of Ireland investing in the sport.

The long-awaited bill could pose a significant issue to the industry should the proposed prohibition on gambling advertising between 5.30am and 9pm be introduced, effectively denying much of the advertising on live horseracing coverage during daytime hours. 

Racing TV and Sky Sports Racing have threatened to pull their racing coverage in Ireland should the bill be enacted in its current form, stating that their service will become "economically unviable".

The bill is now at the report stage in Dail Eireann where amendments are being considered and concern is growing within the industry on the potential ramifications the loss of television coverage would have on racing. 

This month more than 40 trainers and point-to-point handlers from Wexford expressed their concerns in written correspondence sent to James Browne, the minister of state at the Department of Justice.

AIRO – which consists of more than 2,000 members ranging from syndicate shareholders to some of the most powerful owners in the sport – has also conveyed the "deep concern" held by its members regarding the bill. The association also feels the legislation would have a harmful impact on the number of owners and investment in the sport, particularly from those outside Ireland.

Manager of AIRO Regina Byrne said: "Our owners are deeply concerned about the proposed Gambling Regulation Bill. While we are welcoming of a gambling bill which protects the vulnerable in our society, we are really worried about the unintended consequences it could have on the Irish racing and breeding industry. If racing were to disappear from our screens it would have a detrimental effect on the retention of owners whose investment underpins the success of an industry in which we are global leaders.

"It would also have an adverse effect on the level of overseas owners – and direct foreign investment into our country – who rely exclusively on TV coverage to watch their investment run."

Fine Gael's Paul Kehoe has encouraged those in the racing industry to express their viewsCredit: Oireachtas TV

Fine Gael's Paul Kehoe noted in the Racing Post on Tuesday that the industry was mobilised regarding the issue, having received a number of calls from stakeholders within the sport, and the Wexford TD encouraged "anyone who feels similarly concerned to contact the minister".

Byrne says AIRO has also been proactive in expressing its concerns and the association has sent written correspondence to the ministers and government outlining the effect this could have on owners within the sport, while also imploring them to examine possible exemptions for racing specific channels. 

"We have written to ministers and government representatives highlighting, as owners, our concerns for the racing industry," said Byrne. "We are pleading with them to work towards creating the sort of exemptions that exist in other racing jurisdictions to ensure it is attractive for TV channels to continue to broadcast Irish racing."

The suggestion that an exemption will need to be put in place for subscription-based channels has also been raised by broadcaster and former minister Ivan Yates, who said the state needs to "delineate, distinguish and separate" satellite subscription channels and terrestrial television in order to soften the impact of the bill. Kehoe echoed Yates's sentiments, noting that the bill uses "a broad brush with regards to broadcasting".

Read more here

Government TD Paul Kehoe urges amendments to bill causing 'huge concern' to racing 

Broadcaster Ivan Yates calls for subscription channels to be exempt from advertising curbs amid gambling bill concerns 

'The beginning of the end' - more than 40 trainers raise concerns about impending Gambling Regulation Bill 

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