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

Long-serving government TD Paul Kehoe has said Ireland's impending Gambling Regulation Bill fails to recognise the importance of broadcasters to the racing industry and revealed he had been inundated by calls from concerned stakeholders within the sport regarding the legislation. 

Kehoe has been a Fine Gael TD for the Wexford constituency since 2002 and served as minister of state for the departments of the Taoiseach and Defence. He also acted as government chief whip from 2011 to 2016.

After Racing TV and Sky Sports Racing threatened to pull their coverage if a new watershed was introduced that prevents gambling advertising between 5.30am-9pm, more than 40 trainers and point-to-point handlers from Kehoe's Wexford constituency expressed their concerns in written correspondence sent to James Browne, the minister of state at the Department of Justice.

Kehoe, who sits on the cross-party agriculture committee to which Horse Racing Ireland and the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board are answerable, says many within the industry have come to him with similar concerns and that he echoes their sentiments.

"A number of racecourses, individuals involved on the broadcasting side, trainers and owners have been in contact with me regarding this issue," he said on Tuesday. "Plenty of people have got in touch and I would encourage anyone who feels similarly concerned to contact the minister. 

"I have spoken to ministers on this issue. There seems to be a wider problem here in that the legislation is failing to recognise the importance of the role that broadcasting plays in Irish racing. I do hope that the government and the minister can see it from the point of view of those within the sport as this could have a big impact on the industry. People have huge concerns surrounding this, as do I and I agree with them 100 per cent."

Broadcaster and former minister Ivan Yates told the Racing Post last week that the state needs to "delineate, distinguish and separate" satellite subscription channels and terrestrial television in order to reduce the impact of the bill. Kehoe is similarly convinced a distinction needs to be drawn between the different platforms.

He noted the impact the industry has on the economy and feels the legislation needs to reflect this. This point was also raised in the communication sent by the group of Wexford trainers, in which they explained that racing yards in the county support close to 400 full and part-time employees and have been responsible for the sale of horses to the value over €45 million in the last two years.

"There absolutely needs to be distinction," Kehoe said. "They are using a broad brush with regards to broadcasting. There is a big difference between terrestrial television and subscription platforms. People are paying money for these channels because they have a huge interest in racing and the industry.

"The benefits the industry brings to the economy is huge as is outlined in the letter sent by the Wexford trainers recently. The legislation needs to recognise this and that is one of many broader issues that needs to be taken into consideration with regards to this bill." 

He added: "The timeline depends on the priorities the government place on this. This has gone through the committee stage and is now in the report stage. Changes can be made in its current stage and I do hope that common sense prevails."

Read these next:

'Look what happened when showjumping got taken off TV' - Peter Molony and Max McNeill warn over Irish advertising ban 

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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