A MOTION calling for the ban of betting adverts on social media has been passed at Fermanagh and Omagh District Council with one councillor describing the online promotion as “scary.”
Sinn Fein’s Sheamus Greene received the backing of all councillors at last week’s Council meeting at Enniskillen Townhall in which he heavily criticised gambling companies, stating his concern about the effect it has on individuals, families and in particular young people. 
“The ease at which people can now gamble is scary. From smart phones became common place, betting is now as easy as clicking a button,” he said.
Councillor Greene claimed that a recent survey showed that over half of 16 year olds have betting apps on their smart phones and that betting companies have spent almost £500 million on adverts in the last few years which glamorises gambling. 
“A lot of the adverts appear on TV during sports events and in particular premier league games. At Christmas time 2017 there was 26 premiership matches on live TV, each of these games had at least five betting commercials. These adverts link the enjoyment of sport to gambling which is totally wrong, we need to be teaching young people that sport can be enjoyed without having a bet on it.”
He said suicide rates among gambling addicts is “staggeringly high” and said the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) has estimated that one in five problem gamblers attempt to take their own lives “about twice the rate of other addictions.”
“This is a shocking statistic which shows how mental health is affected by this terrible addiction. Alcohol and cigarette adverts are banned and I call for this ban to be extended to take in betting adverts because gambling can have equally as devastating effect on people’s lives,” said Councillor Greene.
In his remarks to the Council, Councillor John Feely said “the majority of people who gamble don’t have a problem with gambling.”
He added: “When gambling does become an addiction it will disrupt and damage your personal life, family life and professional life.”
The motion was passed.
Meanwhile, SDLP Councillor John Coyle brought forward a motion on behalf of a group aimed at making social security decisions “fairer” for people who are out of work and on benefits.
Backed by all councillors at last week’s Council meeting ‘The People’s Proposal’, drawn up by Participation and the Practice of Rights activists, constitutes a checklist for social security decision makers, which they say if implemented “would safeguard people’s rights” to due process “at all stages of decision making within the social security system, affording people the right to timely information, consultation, representation and full consideration of all the evidence.”
In addition to an impact assessment “prior to a financial sanction being imposed in order to determine the likely impact of an individual and their family.”
Speaking at the meeting, Councillor Coyle proposed that the Council supports this aim and write to the Permanent Secretary for the Department for Communities calling for the “issuance of guidance to all decision makers, requiring them to ensure that both due process and impact assessments are undertaken and fully complied with in the decision making process.” 
“The scale of these sanctions have worsened with the collapse of Stormont,” said Councillor Patricia Rogers. “I’ve had grown men in tears,” added Sinn Fein’s Debbie Coyle.
Ulster Unionist’s Howard Thornton said “a common sense approach is sadly lacking” and that the benefit system “should be there to act as a safety net.”
“It’s really important that people who are doing these assessments do have the necessary skills and expertise,” Democratic Unionist Raymond Farrell told the Council. The motion was passed, bringing the three hour meeting to an end.