Scratch cards and lotto tickets should only be sold in special cordoned-off areas of shops and supermarkets, according to a Wexford councillor.

Sinn Féin’s Davy Hynes is also an addiction counsellor and is calling for the change to help people avoid everyday temptation.

He is calling for similar laws to those introduced around the sale of alcohol back in 2020.

On Newstalk Breakfast, Cllr Hynes said he works with people who have gambling problems all the time.

“One in particular, very recently, was a lady who was finding it very, very difficult to avoid buying scratch cards,” he said.

“They are placed, very deliberately I think, at the checkouts on the way out so you can’t miss them.

“I just think it would be a good thing for people.”

Gambling

Cllr Hynes said he has raised the issue with the Junior Minister James Browne who recently published the new Gambling Regulation Bill.

The bill will introduce a dedicated gambling regulator and includes new measures for the regulation of online gambling.

He said the minister appeared open to the idea of hiding scratch cards at the till.

“He introduced legislation there to deal with gambling maybe six months ago and I spoke to him myself and I said, was that not thought about?” he said

“He said it was, but the impression I got from him was there was a lot of pushback from the National Lottery

“So, anyway, it didn’t go in but he did say that it’s something that should be considered.”

Insidious

Cllr Hynes said online gambling has made problem gambling “so insidious and pervasive”.

“It is not like the days when you had to go to your local betting shop and so on, he said. “It is different now.

“I meet people who are in serious debt because of a gambling issue and whatever needs to be done should be done.”

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