Jessica Harrington warns Irish Gambling Bill would be a 'disaster' for her owners

Legendary trainer Jessica Harrington has said the Irish Gambling Regulation Bill could be a "disaster" for her owners if it follows through on proposals for a new watershed whereby gambling advertising is banned between 5.30am and 9pm.

The ban, which was also described as "perverse" by leading racing and bloodstock analyst John Lynam on Saturday, would effectively prevent any advertisement from appearing in live racing coverage during daytime hours, and both Racing TV and Sky Sports Racing have said their product would be financially unviable in Ireland as a result.

Harrington said: "I have a lot of owners from all over the place and they live for the fact that they can watch their horses run on television. We've come an awful long way and got the pictures from all the racecourses and we've got to keep it going. We can't afford to let that go."

Urging TDs to familiarise themselves with the full picture when it comes to gambling, Harrington asked: "How much is being gambled on all the other things apart from racing? Has anyone done an exercise to break it all down? Even if breaking it down doesn't turn out to be to our advantage, we ought to know the real facts because at the moment all forms of gambling are being tarnished with one brush. Not everybody gambles and the people who are gambling bet on all sorts of different things, not just racing."

She added: "We haven't really got the facts. It's like the British voting for Brexit when they didn't know what it meant. We need to ask our TDs whether they really understand everything. They need to stop being reactive. The product we have here in Ireland is not promoting gambling, it's promoting the industry and the employment that it brings."

Lynam, a brother of Flat trainer Eddie, hit out at some of the proposals in the bill and argued that the potential blackout of pictures would encourage more people to open accounts and visit betting shops.

"With what they are proposing now, if somebody wants to watch racing going forward they won't have Racing TV or Sky Sports Racing, so they have to do one of two things," he said. 

"They can open a betting account so they can watch the race, maybe put a euro on the favourite or something just to watch it. So that's going to encourage people to open new accounts. The other alternative would be to go into a betting shop.

"I don't think that's a good way to treat problem gambling: to go into a bookies or open an account. I really don't know if they have thought this one through. It's perverse."

John Lynam (left): has hit out at some of the proposals in the billCredit: Caroline Norris

However, Lynam also believes the racing industry has been slow to react to the threat of the bill and fears that putting forward an economic argument may not be enough to prevent it being passed in its current form. Instead he feels the industry should have been proactive in helping to fund the treatment of problem gambling.

Lynam said: "The industry has put forward a primarily economic argument, but I feel it should have shown more concern for the issue of problem gambling before now. People should have been looking and seeing how much money is going to the treatment of gambling addiction. 

"That's the main way to solve problem gambling. The racecourses are getting almost €50 million a year from media rights – surely they should be prepared to contribute a portion towards funds for gambling addiction."

Read more on the Irish Gambling Bill here

HRI hits back after minister criticises decision to enter new media rights contract in Gambling Bill row 

Leading trainer Barry Connell fears 'Armageddon situation' as a result of controversial Gambling Bill  

Irish owners waiting on HRI before lobbying politicians over fears surrounding controversial Gambling Bill 

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