So many grey areas in gambling bill - and it might not just be the racing channels that face blackout

It feels like a small consolation right now that the legislators charged with drawing up Ireland’s revamped gambling regulation bill pushed back on including draconian affordability checks.

Nonetheless, when you see in Britain how entrenched the nanny state policy of telling people how they can and can’t spend their own money is setting in, we’re grateful for small mercies. If a Conservative post-Brexit government can strive to impose such intrusive restrictions on civil liberties in the sneezing of its white paper, then don’t assume it’s a cold we can’t catch across the Irish Sea.

For now at least, though, it’s not on the agenda of a bill that is contentious enough in itself. The prospect was raised by the Oireachtas justice committee last year but was rejected, along with routine background checks, for invasion of privacy and GDPR reasons. The committee noted that “there is no statutory or legal basis for this activity”, concluding that the bill already includes adequate measures to protect punters.