Gambling Regulation in Ireland

The Gambling Regulation Act 2024 (the “Act”), signed into Irish law on 23 October 2024, marked a significant turning point in the regulation of gambling in Ireland. The Act has gradually commenced its supplantation of the old legislative regime – with two commencement orders (procedures by which certain provisions of the Act are brought into effect) having been made, as well as the establishment of a statutory complaints procedure. A dedicated gambling regulatory body is now established and a streamlined licensing regime is being rolled out. Certain provisions remain subject to commencement, but the Act has now begun its attempt to bring the legislative landscape up to speed with the significant shifts in recent decades in how individuals encounter, access and interact with gambling platforms.

It is important to note that central to the Act is the objective of mitigating the risks and harms associated with gambling, with government ministers having previously characterised the Act as a public health measure. It is expected to have far-reaching implications across a broad spectrum of business sectors as, beyond betting, lottery and gaming activities, it extends to advertising on media platforms. Moreover, the wording of the Act is in sufficiently broad terms to capture operators and activities outside the traditional gaming sector, depending on the nature of any promotions or games offered.

While there was broad consensus that the previous regime required modernisation and stronger consumer safeguards, some measures proved controversial among gambling providers, prompting robust debate and lobbying. The commercial impact remains to be seen; the discussion below reflects the anticipated operation of the Act as of May 2026.

A new statutory regulator

The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (the “GRAI”) was formally established on 5 March 2025¹Department of Justice press release of 4 March 2025, “Minister O’Callaghan establishes GRAI approves appointment of members as new licencing & regulatory framework for gambling begins”, available here. See also S.I. No.58/2025 – Gambling Regulation Act (Establishment Day) Order 2025, available here. and is responsible for implementing the new regime, monitoring compliance and taking enforcement action.

Provisions relating to the GRAI’s core functions have now been commenced, encompassing licensing, supervision and control of gambling activities; the establishment of a register of gambling licences; administration of the Social Impact Fund; monitoring and enforcement of compliance; handling of complaints; and public awareness initiatives.²S.I. No.31/2026 – Gambling Regulation Act 2024 (Commencement) Order 2026, available here. It will be funded by government advances for its first three years, after which it is intended to become self-funding via licensing charges (with the government supplementing its operational costs if necessary).

Social Impact Fund

The public health concerns underpinning the Act can be partly contextualised by the finding of the Irish Economic & Social Research Institute that an estimated one in thirty adults in Ireland suffer from problem gambling – ten times higher than in 2019.³Economic & Social Research Institute, “Measures of problem gambling, gambling behaviours and perceptions of gambling in Ireland”, 5 October 2023, available here. Amid warnings of a new “public health emergency”,⁴Sean Murray, “Gambling has caused problems for 10% of Irish adults — ESRI”, Irish Examiner, 5 October 2023, available here. the Act seeks to balance business interests against the need to protect individuals from the risks of gambling.

The Act established a Social Impact Fund to finance research, education, training and other initiatives targeting compulsive or excessive gambling and the provisions governing the fund’s establishment and maintenance by the GRAI have commenced. The GRAI will raise monies by levying annual contributions on gambling providers (excluding those operating for charitable or philanthropic purposes), calculated as a percentage of turnover to be set by the Minister for Justice. An assessment of needs and funding strategy is currently being developed and, once finalised, eligible charities and organisations will be able to apply for funding annually.

In 2025, the GRAI in partnership with Pobal opened a two-phase stakeholder consultation to inform the funding and strategy of the Social Impact Fund. In September 2025, the GRAI published a full report on phase one of the consultation,⁵Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland and Pobal, “Informing the Social Impact Fund A National Consultation on Gambling Harm in Ireland”, 19 September 2025, available here. which included input from individuals with lived experiences of gambling addiction, NGOs, academia, gambling counsellors and others. The priority focus areas for Social Impact Fund investment from the report are workforce development and training, service coordination and accessibility, recovery and family support and awareness, prevention and research. Phase two of the consultation, seeking information in relation to the delivery of services and programme design, has now closed and the report is awaited.

The Social Impact Fund will follow these stages after the stakeholder consultations conclude:

• drafting of the funding strategy;
• consultation on contribution rate;
• publication of regulation on statutory annual contribution; and
• finalisation of the fund design and launch.

National Gambling Exclusion Register

A further element of the strategy to address problem gambling is the establishment of a National Gambling Exclusion Register. The register will record the details of persons who have applied to exclude themselves from accessing online gambling or being contacted by B2C licence holders, and make those details available to B2C licensees. The Act goes further, prohibiting B2C licence holders from providing gambling services to such persons, accepting payment from them or inviting them to participate in gambling. Non-compliance with this obligation constitutes an offence under the Act, carrying a potential unlimited fine and/or imprisonment of up to five years. The provisions governing the operation of the National Gambling Exclusion Register have not yet commenced.

Licensing

The Act introduces a comprehensive licensing regime applicable to any “gambling activity”, a term encompassing betting, gaming and lottery activities, as well as the sale or supply of a gambling product or a related gambling service. The GRAI began accepting licence applications in February 2026.

Different types of licences (each of which may be for in-person and/ or remote gambling) are provided for, including:

• business to consumer (“B2C”) gambling licences;
• business to business (“B2B”) gambling licences;
• gambling licences for a charitable or philanthropic purpose;
• betting licences;
• gaming licences; and
• lottery licences.

These licences are required for “gambling products” and “gambling related services”, both defined broadly to capture a range of activities and ancillary services, including risk and fraud management, online hosting, and software maintenance. The Act prescribes a detailed application process, including a requirement to publish a public notice 28 days prior to applying, and various conditions that may attach to each licence type.

B2B licences are a notable addition as, previously, B2B service providers were not required to hold a licence. A gambling licence for charitable and philanthropic purposes is also new, applying to gaming or lottery activities used for fundraising by non-profit organisations. This is intended to be a more streamlined process, reflecting the distinction between such organisations and commercial gambling operators. The Act provides an exemption from the licensing requirements for certain charitable lotteries involving small amounts (winnings under €2,000) and lotteries held in conjunction with the sale or marketing of products (winnings under €5,000), subject to specified conditions.

The GRAI is adopting a phased approach to accepting licence applications, facilitating a smooth transition for existing licence holders. The GRAI can now accept and process applications, and issue licences for both remote and in-person betting operations under the Act. Applications are currently open for remote betting licences, remote betting intermediary licences and in-person betting licences. As anticipated, B2B licences do not fall within the first phase of applications to be accepted.

To assist operators, the GRAI updated its Guidance on Relevant Obligations for Business to Consumer Licensees in February 2026.⁶Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, Guidance on Relevant Obligations for Business to Consumer Licensees”, available here. The GRAI has also published a range of other guidance – including on relevant obligations for B2C licensees, application fees (which are proportionate to turnover), licensing applications, legal and corporate assessments, premises assessments, and pool betting, as well as application templates.

Advertising

While an outright ban on gambling advertising ultimately did not materialise, gambling advertising was a hotly-debated and contentious aspect of the Act’s formation, which contains wide-ranging provisions governing gambling advertising, including via social media and video-sharing platforms.

The GRAI has published its Guidance on Advertising, Branded Clothing and Sponsorship⁷Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, Guidance on Advertising, Branded Clothing and Sponsorship”, available here. providing practical examples of the relevant restrictions and obligations for advertising practices, such as advertising on-demand sound services, the role of social media influencers and hours of advertising.

Indeed, one of the most contentious provisions is the prohibition on gambling advertisements between 5:30am and 9pm. For on-demand media and sound services, gambling advertisements are prohibited by default unless the viewer or listener holds an account with the service provider and the licensee otherwise complies with the applicable advertising rules. The same principles apply to social media and video-sharing platforms, with the additional requirement that the intended recipient must be subscribed to the gambling body’s account on the relevant service. Operators may also not enter into arrangements with media providers to advertise relevant content during the restricted hours.

The Act imposes strict prohibitions on advertising directed at children, including advertisements that portray gambling as attractive to children, encourage children’s participation, or exploit their vulnerability – for example (as illustrated in GRAI guidance) using cartoons or animations. Gambling advertisements must also not cause, condone or encourage excessive or compulsive gambling, nor mislead the public regarding the potential advantages of gambling. Charities and non-profit organisations are exempt from some of the stricter rules.

The Act empowers the GRAI to regulate and monitor how gambling advertising can be displayed or published, including by prescribing content requirements, permitted times, places, frequency and duration. The GRAI may also apply to the High Court to prohibit any advertising conducted in contravention of the Act.

Inducements, Payments and Limits

The previously-proposed outright ban on gambling operators providing inducements to gamble was replaced in the final text of the Act with a prohibition on providing inducements to specific persons or groups, while continuing to allow incentives to the general public. The relevant section has not yet been commenced.

Since the 5 February 2026 commencement order, B2C licence holders (other than holders of a lottery licence for a once-off lottery) are prohibited from accepting payment for any relevant gambling activity by credit card, extending a credit facility to a participant or knowingly facilitating the provision of credit in relation to gambling.

The introduction of maximum limits on payments and winnings for lotteries, casino games and bingo has drawn some criticism. For casino games, the maximum stake is €10 and winnings are capped at €3,000. These provisions have now been commenced, with industry stakeholders opining that they render some gambling activities impossible to operate.

Compliance and Enforcement

The Act grants the GRAI wide-ranging sanction and enforcement powers, which have now commenced, including the power to:

• issue a notice of non-compliance;
• direct an investigation;
• apply to court for suspension or revocation of a licence or to block access to online services;
• conduct an oral hearing;
• apply for emergency orders to protect the public from serious consequences of an ongoing contravention, including blocking access to online services; and
• impose administrative sanctions including: financial penalties (up to €20,000,000 or, if greater, 10% of the licensee’s turnover) or the suspension, revocation or imposition of a condition on any gambling licence.

The explanatory memorandum states that “the overall policy intention is to encourage compliance rather than to enforce penalties for non-compliance⁸Explanatory Memorandum to the Gambling Regulation Act 2024, available here..” Section 190(2) sets out factors the GRAI will consider, including the nature, gravity and duration of the breach.

The GRAI must apply to the Circuit Court for confirmation of its decision and any administrative sanction. An adjudication officer may refer questions of law to the High Court. The Act also contains detailed provisions governing appeals of enforcement decisions.

The Act creates a broad range of offences imposing personal liability for relevant officers or beneficial owners of a licensee, where the individual consented to or connived in the offence, or was guilty of wilful neglect. On summary conviction, penalties include a fine up to €5,000 and/or up to 12 months’ imprisonment (or on indictment, an unlimited fine and/or up to five years’ imprisonment).

All licence holders are obliged to report to the GRAI any suspicious gambling activity that suggests an attempt to influence the outcome of a relevant gambling activity.

Complaints Procedures

Any person who meets the admissibility criteria in the Act can make a complaint directly to the GRAI. The formal procedure for such complaints has now been set out in the Gambling (Complaints Procedures) Regulations 2026 (the “Complaints Regulations”)⁹https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2026/en/si/0170.html.

Under the Complaints Regulations, the GRAI may extend the time for making a complaint or dismiss a complaint as inadmissible and in doing so may at its discretion seek the licensee’s observations and, where appropriate, share them with the complainant. Written notice of any such decision, with reasons, must be given to both parties.

Where a complaint proceeds, the licensee must provide written observations within the specified period. The GRAI retains a general discretion to share observations and information between the parties and to make such inquiries as it considers appropriate. Importantly, before forming an opinion that a licensee has contravened a relevant obligation, the GRAI must have furnished all relevant material to the licensee and invited a response.

Tax implications

From a tax perspective, the main change introduced by the Act is that the GRAI is now the statutory authority for issuing licences and levying licence fees, rather than the Irish Revenue Commissioners (whose involvement nonetheless continues on legacy/transition cases).

There has been no indication that there will be any material change in how excise duty is applied to bookmakers or remote betting intermediaries (ie, providers of betting exchanges) under the new regime. The Finance Act 2024 amended some definitions in the relevant excise legislation and further amendments may be required to refer to licences which will be issued under the new legal framework. The rate of betting duty was not changed but the Act now provides for a separate ‘remote betting duty’ which applies to bets placed by remote means (as distinct from a single duty which previously applied to both in-person and remote betting). Betting duty and remote betting excise duty continue to apply at a rate of 2% on the value of bets entered in person and remotely, respectively. A 25% betting intermediary duty continues to apply on the commission charged by a remote betting intermediary to persons in Ireland for using the facilities of the intermediary to make bets.

The VAT treatment of betting transactions has not been affected by the Act and we expect that the current exemptions in respect of betting services and remote betting intermediary services will continue to apply. Betting duty essentially replaces VAT on betting transactions. The supply of gaming and e-gaming services by contrast, is subject to VAT in Ireland.

Conclusion

With the Act now in force and certain provisions now commenced (with more to follow), the long overdue modernisation of the Irish system for gambling regulation is now well and truly underway. The Act presents immediate challenges to gambling providers – particularly at a time when the media sector is already grappling with increased regulation and charitable organisations face additional administrative burdens under the Charities (Amendment) Act 2024. Operators would be well advised to engage with the GRAI at the earliest opportunity to ensure timely processing of applications and to familiarise themselves with the new authority. Beyond that, it remains to be seen whether the Act will achieve the public health objective for which it was designed.