Gamblers Anonymous has said plans by British fruit-machine manufacturers to introduce new machines which accept banknotes of up to £20 are a major concern.
The gamblers' support group has called on the Government to ensure the new machines do not get into this State.
Recent reviews of the gambling regulations in both Ireland and Britain are set to produce conflicting results.
The British Home Office has confirmed that it has commissioned a review of the industry, with a view to radically overhauling antiquated laws governing it. The report, to be published in the next few weeks, is likely to recommend sweeping changes and large-scale deregulation of the industry.
However, a similar review of gambling laws in this State will not have the same liberalising effect, according to the Department of Justice, which insists that such machines will not be permitted here.
Deregulation in Britain would leave the way clear for the gambling industry to introduce changes to how fruit and gaming machines accept money, which it estimates would save it millions of pounds a year.
According to the British newspaper, the Independent on Sunday, the industry claims £1 million would be saved annually by avoiding jammed coins blocking the machines, and a further £8 million on engineers' visits to repair them.
A spokesman for Gamblers Anonymous in Ireland confirmed that fruit machines used in Irish arcades are generally supplied by British manufacturers.
"If they're going to bring this in, the sky's the limit," said the group's public relations officer. Gaming machines are big business in the UK, where 186,000 jackpot and all-cash machines generate a turnover of more than £10 billion sterling per year, with an estimated £8 billion paid out in prizes. Accurate estimates of the industry's value here are difficult to come by, although figures from the Revenue Commissioners indicate a far smaller scale.
Last year 6,060 gaming and amusement machine licences were issued for the greater Dublin area, encompassing parts of Wicklow and Dundalk.
While the deregulation would not allow players to bet on credit, it would allow them to use plastic debit cards and larger denominations of cash, accepting banknotes rather than smaller-denomination coins.
Gamblers Anonymous says this would make it easier for people to stand in front of the machines gambling larger amounts for long periods without a break.
"There's no way it's going down that way at all," said a spokesman for the Department of Justice, pointing to new legislation being prepared which will limit the maximum stake a person is allowed to bet during any one period.
The legislation is a response to the recent review of the Gaming and Lotteries Acts, 1956-86, and aims to balance the demands of the gaming industry with concerns over the increased amounts of money expended on gambling.
The group set up to undertake the review reported that the gaming industry had made many submissions demanding increases in the amounts of stakes and prize levels allowed. It recommended a maximum limit of E.50 (39p) and E.25 (19p) for "amusement with prizes" machines.
The Department spokesman said that machines of the type proposed for Britain would not be accepted in this State. "You wouldn't be allowed to use the machines, it's as simple as that. If we've laws here in this country with limits, then anyone not complying with those limits will be breaking the law," he said.