Ireland is in the middle of a fundamental overhaul of its gambling law. For decades, gambling was governed by older statutes on betting and on gaming and lotteries, enacted long before internet gambling existed, with bookmakers licensed through the Revenue Commissioners. The Gambling Regulation Act 2024 replaces that system with a single licensing regime. It is run by a new independent regulator, the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI). The Act is being commenced in phases. Betting licences opened for applications in February 2026; gaming and lottery licensing are to follow.
Key points
- The Gambling Regulation Act 2024 (Act 35 of 2024) was signed into law on 23 October 2024. It provides for betting, gaming and lottery licences, each available for in-person or remote (online) activity.
- GRAI was established on a statutory basis in March 2025. On 4 February 2026 the Minister for Justice signed a commencement order that opened applications for betting licences from 9 February 2026.
- The Act provides for a National Gambling Exclusion Register, a Social Impact Fund financed by licensees, a broadcast advertising watershed, and a ban on gambling with credit cards.
- The explanatory memorandum to the Bill describes penalties of up to eight years’ imprisonment for providing gambling without a licence, and powers to seek the blocking of unlicensed websites and payments.
- The Act’s offences are aimed at providers. The sources reviewed describe no offence for adults who gamble.
- The National Lottery remains under its own regulator.
Last reviewed: 5 October 2026.
This guide summarises the law as described by official sources at the date of review. It is not legal advice. Because the Act is being brought into force in stages, readers should check the current position with the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland.
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Historical development
Betting, particularly on horse and greyhound racing, has long been a central part of commercial gambling in Ireland. Before the 2024 reforms, betting was regulated mainly under the Betting Act 1931 and its later amendments, and bookmakers’ licences were issued through the Revenue Commissioners. GRAI’s operator guidance confirms that bookmaker applications made to Revenue before 5 February 2026 are still processed under the 1931 Act. Gaming and lotteries were governed by separate, older legislation. None of these statutes was designed for online gambling.
The Gambling Regulation Bill 2022 was introduced in the Dáil on 2 December 2022. According to the Oireachtas record, it completed its passage through the Dáil on 1 May 2024 and through the Seanad on 8 October 2024. It was signed into law on 23 October 2024 as Act 35 of 2024. The Oireachtas summary describes an Act to establish a regulator for “licensing and regulating betting, gaming, certain lotteries and the sale or supply of products or services related to gambling”. The Act repeals a series of earlier gambling statutes dating back to 1929.
Legal framework: the Gambling Regulation Act 2024
The Act creates a unified licensing structure. Its main licence categories, as set out in the text of the Act, are:
- Betting licences (section 85): in-person betting, remote betting, combined in-person and remote betting, and remote betting intermediary licences. A betting intermediary is a business, such as a betting exchange, that enables people to bet with each other.
- Gaming licences (section 86): in-person, remote or combined licences for games of chance, including online casino-style games.
- Lottery licences (section 87): in-person, remote or combined.
- Licences for charitable or philanthropic purposes (section 88).
- Business-to-business licences (section 89): for suppliers of gambling products and services to licensees.
Section 67 prohibits providing a betting activity, game or lottery without the appropriate licence. The explanatory memorandum to the Bill states that a person convicted of such an offence on indictment is liable to “up to 8 years’ imprisonment and a fine at the discretion of the courts, or both”. The memorandum was prepared for the Bill as initiated, and some provisions were amended during its passage. The enacted text should be checked for the final wording of any provision.
The Act defines a child as a person under 18. Section 158 requires licensees to prevent children from gambling, and section 142 prohibits employing children in the provision of gambling.
Advertising, inducements and payments
The Act regulates how licensees market gambling. Section 149 deals with prohibited hours for advertising on certain media. The explanatory memorandum describes “a watershed prohibiting the broadcast of gambling advertising on television and radio between the hours of 5:30am and 9:00pm”. Section 157 restricts offering inducements to gamble, such as free bets and bonuses, to relevant persons. On payment methods, the memorandum describes a prohibition on “the use of credit cards as a means of payment for gambling, the use of electronic methods of payment that are funded by credit cards and the offer of credit facilities to players”.
The National Gambling Exclusion Register and Social Impact Fund
Section 45 establishes a National Gambling Exclusion Register. It allows a person to exclude themselves from “participating in relevant gambling activities by remote means” with all licensees at once. According to the explanatory memorandum, exclusion may be for a specified or indefinite period, and licensees must return any funds they hold for an excluded person within seven days. Sections 50 and 51 establish a Social Impact Fund. It is financed by mandatory contributions from licensees and used for research, awareness and treatment “in relation to compulsive or excessive gambling”.
Regulator and licensing model
The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland was, in its own words, “established on a statutory basis in March 2025”. Its Statement of Strategy 2025–2027, published on 15 October 2025, sets out priorities including licensing, monitoring and compliance, enforcement, and consumer protection and awareness. The model is a licensing model, not a state monopoly: private operators may apply for licences if they meet the statutory suitability requirements. The National Lottery is the main exception. It continues to be overseen separately by the Regulator of the National Lottery, which describes itself as “an independent statutory office overseeing the operation of Ireland’s National Lottery”.
Licensing is being introduced in phases. On 4 February 2026 GRAI announced that Minister Jim O’Callaghan had signed a commencement order. The order opened applications for remote, in-person and remote betting intermediary licences from 9 February 2026. It also commenced “other key elements of the Act, including the enforcement and complaints functions that will underpin the new licensing framework”. Applicants must show that they are “fit and proper to hold the licence concerned”.
GRAI’s operator portal guidance explains the transition for bookmakers. Bookmaker licence applications submitted to the Revenue Commissioners before 5 February 2026 will “be processed in line with the Betting Act 1931”. Other betting licence applications go through the GRAI portal. The announcement and portal guidance reviewed for this guide concern betting licences only. At the date of review we had not found a GRAI announcement opening applications for remote gaming (online casino) licences. Applying for a licence is not the same as holding one, and an overseas licence does not by itself satisfy the Irish requirements.
Online gambling
Online betting has been licensed in Ireland for some years through Revenue’s remote bookmaker and remote betting intermediary licences. Revenue explains that remote betting intermediaries are liable for duty “on commission charged by them to persons in the State” (Revenue, Betting Duty). Under the 2024 Act these activities move into GRAI’s betting licence categories.
Online casino games are covered by the new remote gaming licence. When gaming licences become available, online casino operators serving people in Ireland will need a GRAI licence, like betting operators. Section 67 makes it an offence to provide a game without one. Until gaming licensing is commenced and licences are granted, readers should not assume that any online casino holds an Irish licence. The GRAI register is the authoritative check.
For enforcement against unlicensed providers, the explanatory memorandum describes powers for “blocking internet service provision of a prohibited gambling activity, blocking of financial payments to unlicensed providers” through applications to the courts. Banks have also introduced their own controls. In September 2025 GRAI reported that PTSB had joined Bank of Ireland, AIB, EBS and Revolut in offering customers digital gambling-transaction blocks.
Position of players
The 2024 Act regulates the supply of gambling. Its offences concern providing gambling without a licence, advertising and marketing in breach of the Act, and allowing children to gamble. Neither the Act’s provisions reviewed for this guide nor the explanatory memorandum describe an offence for adults who place bets or play games, whether with Irish-licensed or overseas operators. The practical difference lies in protection. Licensed operators will be bound by the exclusion register, the credit ban, the inducement rules and GRAI’s complaints and enforcement functions. Unlicensed operators are outside that framework, and the blocking powers described above are designed to make them harder to reach.
Taxation
Gambling taxes in Ireland have been levied mainly on betting. Revenue administers Betting Duty on bets placed with licensed bookmakers, Remote Betting Duty on bets placed by remote means, and Betting Intermediary Duty on intermediaries’ commission (Revenue, What is Betting Duty). These are operator duties. The licensees’ contributions to the Social Impact Fund under the 2024 Act are a separate levy for harm prevention, not a tax on players. The sources reviewed for this guide do not address the personal tax treatment of winnings; readers should consult Revenue.
Consumer protection and responsible gambling
The 2024 Act puts harm reduction at the centre of the new system. The main measures are the National Gambling Exclusion Register, the credit card ban, the advertising watershed, inducement controls, the duty to prevent children from gambling, and the Social Impact Fund. In September 2025 GRAI reported that it was working on the design of the exclusion register. Its research programme has included an ESRI study on the effects of free bets and other inducements (June 2025), a national consultation on gambling-related harm (September 2025) and a national survey of third-level students (October 2025), all listed on GRAI’s news page.
Free support is available across the island of Ireland from Extern Problem Gambling. It runs a 24-hour Gambling Care Helpline on 1800 936 725 (Republic of Ireland) or 08000 886 725 (Northern Ireland), and provides free counselling. Many Irish banks now offer gambling-transaction blocks in their apps. Our responsible gambling guide explains other tools, such as deposit limits.
Recent and upcoming developments
- 23 October 2024: the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 is signed into law.
- March 2025: GRAI is established on a statutory basis.
- July 2025: GRAI publishes guidance on the licensing process for business-to-consumer betting licences.
- 15 October 2025: GRAI publishes its Statement of Strategy 2025–2027.
- 4 February 2026: a commencement order brings betting licensing, enforcement and complaints functions into force. Applications open on 9 February 2026.
- Next phases: gaming and lottery licensing, the operation of the National Gambling Exclusion Register, and the Social Impact Fund. GRAI has said it is taking “a phased approach for different licence types”.
The main open questions concern timing. They include when remote gaming licences will open, how quickly the exclusion register will go live, and how the courts will use the blocking powers against offshore providers. Readers should rely on GRAI’s announcements for each stage rather than on general descriptions of the Act.
Casino listings for players in Ireland
The listings below are generated from our casino database. They do not by themselves show that an operator is licensed in Ireland. At the date of review, licensing under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 had opened for betting, and we had not found an announcement opening remote gaming licences. Check the current position and the register of licensees on the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland website.
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Sources and further reading
- Houses of the Oireachtas, Gambling Regulation Act 2024 (Bill 114 of 2022): bill history and summary (accessed 5 October 2026).
- Houses of the Oireachtas, Gambling Regulation Act 2024 (No. 35 of 2024), enacted text (2024).
- Department of Justice, Gambling Regulation Bill 2022: Explanatory Memorandum (2022).
- Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, Minister Jim O’Callaghan signs commencement order paving the way for GRAI to open for remote and in-person licensing applications (4 February 2026).
- Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, GRAI operator portal (accessed 5 October 2026).
- Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, About GRAI (accessed 5 October 2026).
- Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, News (accessed 5 October 2026).
- Revenue Commissioners, Betting Duty (accessed 5 October 2026).
- Revenue Commissioners, What is Betting Duty? (accessed 5 October 2026).
- Regulator of the National Lottery, About the Regulator (accessed 5 October 2026).
- Extern Problem Gambling, Free counselling and helpline service (accessed 5 October 2026).
