Bingo players in Northern Ireland may be permitted to play bingo at their local halls on Sundays. A review of the law is apparently in the works, and Social Development Minister of Northern Ireland, Margaret Richie has stated that there is a need to update these laws as they are “not robust enough to deal with modern gambling”. She further stated that “current legislation is old, inflexible, and hard to understand and the gambling market has moved on. There are new products and new ways of gambling that the current law never envisioned. It is in everyone’s interests that the gambling industry is regulated and that is why I’m reviewing this law.”

Current gambling laws in the country have been in place since 1985, and with the advent of online gambling and the boom in bingo halls, there is clearly a need for updated legislation. The new laws will also focus on key issues such as general licensing systems plus associated fees and charges, enforcement, protection for minors and problem gambling, new and emerging forms of gambling including remote gambling, as well as known problems such as regulation of gaming machines. The new laws will be reviewed within the next few months, and should bring some interesting changes to bingo halls across the country – not to mention bingo websites.