Discreet to the point of invisibility, Irish casino clubs have been prompted to find their voice, writes Davin O'Dwyer
A receptionist with an exotic accent greets you with a broad smile, takes your photograph and an electronic fingerprint, before pointing you towards the cards room, where blackjack tables and roulette wheels are manned by dealers in tuxedos and evening dresses.
It may sound very Casino Royale, but it all happens a mere minute's walk from Grafton Street. The Sporting Emporium off South Anne Street, part-owned by Dermot Desmond, is the exclusive height of Irish gambling, a private members' club offering gaming facilities in luxurious surroundings. But if Minister for Justice Michael McDowell gets his way, it appears the Sporting Emporium, and some two dozen other casino clubs around the country, will be forced to close.
Earlier this week, McDowell said he intends to close the private members' clubs that currently operate as members-only casinos thereby circumventing the 1956 Gaming and Lotteries Act, which outlaws gambling unless it is a game of chance.
"I honestly do not believe that they add anything to the good of life in Ireland," McDowell said, citing concerns about money laundering, while admitting there was no evidence any Irish casino was being used in this way.
The Department of Justice, however, states that "the operation of casinos is vulnerable to money laundering and tax evasion given the volume of cash transactions involved". The Department's concerns don't end there.
"Anyone who has visited casinos abroad will be aware of the type of undesirable activities, prostitution and the like, that often flourish around the locations," according to a Department of Justice statement. However, there is no evidence to suggest this is the case with any Irish casino. Depending on progress through the Oireachtas, the Department of Justice expects to see the casinos closed before the end of the year.
This has inevitably caused alarm among casino operators. An industry that spent so long being discreet to the point of being invisible has suddenly found itself in need of a voice. To that end, an independent body, the Gaming and Leisure Association, was recently created to represent a number of casinos, with a view to drawing up a code of practice and educating the public about the industry.
"We wrote to the Minister in March looking for a meeting after his first indications that he had concerns in relation to the industry. We unfortunately didn't get a response from him," says association chairman David Hall. "This is judge, jury and executioner all in one fell swoop, with no evidence. To say there's a concern about money laundering yet no evidence, it's most peculiar to then - without public consultation or industry consultation - unilaterally use your authority as Minister to bring legislation to close these operations."
JIM MCALPINE, GENERAL manager of Silks Casino on Earlsfort Terrace, a club similar to the Sporting Emporium, but on a more intimate scale, feels there is a lack of knowledge about casinos that attract thousands of regular customers and employ hundreds of people. "We are part of the entertainment industry. We get lots of tourists here . . . for whom a night in a casino is a social thing. Regulation will have to happen some time."
That is the solution many in the casino industry are looking for. "There are 25 member states in the EU, and 23 of them have legislation relating to casinos and gambling," says Hall. "Cyprus and Ireland are the only two member states that don't have legislation. We have no difficulty with legislation, none whatsoever."
The Department of Justice, however, clearly states that "casinos have always been illegal in Ireland and the Minister and the entire Government are not anxious to change that situation".
Furthermore, "The question that Ireland might bring its gaming law into line with other European countries suggests that there is a European norm for gaming regimes: there is not. The laws on gaming and gambling vary widely between European countries, with some being very restrictive, some reserving to state monopoly the right to operate casinos (eg The Netherlands) and some being more or less laissez-faire."
Under the present private members' club situation, the reality here is closer to laissez-faire than restrictive. Undoubtedly, though, it appears compromise might be difficult to reach.
The financial director of one club, who asked not to be named, is amazed at the situation. "They [ the Government] are more than happy to take our taxes while casting aspersions on our legitimacy," he says. "The whole organised crime, money-laundering comment is a slur on the whole industry, frankly. We're an easy target, though. There are lots of new operators, and there is little or no lobbying power, unlike say the drinks lobby, which kicked up a fuss when McDowell tried to force through cafe bars."
Another member of the industry says prohibition will inevitably result in an underground casino industry - any concerns about tax evasion would be very real in that scenario. Nor would prohibition curb the gambling culture, says Hall.
"For some bizarre reason there's an obsession with casinos. During Cheltenham alone, €100 million was gambled by Irish punters. And then you have online gambling, which there has been no effort to legislate."
Indeed, one of the largest casinos in Dublin, the Fitzwilliam Card Club on Fitzwilliam Street, hosts online poker games, allowing people anywhere to gamble on real games as they happen.
In what is surely symbolic of modern Ireland, the Fitzwilliam Card Club occupies a renovated church.
Whatever the arguments for or against casinos, it is a debate that will have to happen soon. In this high-stakes game, it's impossible to predict who will fold first.