Judge asked to consider impact of Town Council abolition on gaming arcades

Justice Minister Alan Shatter is to receive a letter claiming the Gaming Act needs revision.
It follows controversy at Ballyshannon District Court over one-armed bandits and other games in public arcades.
Judge Kevin Kilrane was told the arcades should shut when the town councils which grant licences for them become extinct next June.
The judge was dealing with applications for renewal of five gaming licences in Bundoran for 2014.
Patricia McCaffrey, a member of the public and a former traffic warden in the town, objected.
She told the judge that the licences were granted under Bundoran Council’s bye-laws.
She said the licences were for premises within the boundaries of Bundoran. She added that the council is abolished in the middle of next year the gaming arcades will be operating illegally.
Ms McCaffrey said although Donegal County Council would take over operation of Bundoran – and Letterkenny where the local council is also being disbanded – the county council didn’t have authority to
provide gaming licences.
Judge Kilrane granted the licences under the terms of the existing Act.
Outside the court Ms McCaffrey said she writing to the Minister for Justice about the matter.
She claimed gaming machines could be operating illegally in many parts of the country from the middle of next year