So it’s a credit to Ireland that it is proposing a complete, bottom-up overhaul of the licensing and oversight regime, as we report in our regulation section this issue (p20). For example, a new gaming regulator will be created (if the civil servants’ recommendations make it through the Dail), and the anomalous position of clubs that are casinos in all but name will finally be addressed.

That’s not to say, however, that Dublin is rolling over to have its belly tickled by the gaming sector. Especially where gaming machines are concerned, the tone of the proposal document is tough – crane grabs could even be outlawed from shopping malls, for example – and it seems likely that across the industry, licensing requirements will be strict and fees considerable.

Some might, then, prefer a gentler regulatory hand, but the joined-up thinking of the Irish proposals is still to be welcomed...and will be by the country’s lawmakers, we hope. For the long-term health of the sector, clarity is always preferable to confusion.

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