MLAs have voted to liberalize gambling rules in Northern Ireland in line with Great Britain – but the Executive has faced criticism for giving the go-ahead for higher stakes and prizes while there aren’t the same checks on the industry as in the rest of the UK.
The TUV says Northern Ireland had five times the prevalence of people affected by problem gambling compared to England when research was last conducted – and that the Gambling Levy coming into effect later this year in Great Britain won’t apply here. Timothy Gaston said that tax was “to pay for the socially destructive implications of gambling”.
