Irish gambling operators can apply for licence from Thursday under new legislation

Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan signed a commencement order this week to begin important parts of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 that allows the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland to start issuing licences, along with criminal enforcement powers.

The long-awaited licensing regime for gambling operators in Ireland opens for applications on Thursday, as the regulator has been granted powers to issue heavy fines to companies that flout its rules.

Furthermore, the regulator will also conduct “boots-on-the-ground" assessments of gambling premises as part of the licensing process, including a venue’s proximity to schools and ATMs.

Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan signed a commencement order this week to begin important parts of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 that allows the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) to start issuing licences, along with criminal enforcement powers.

“This marks another important step towards replacing Ireland’s outdated gambling laws with a streamlined and simplified licensing framework,” he said.

This reflects the nature of modern gambling and takes into account the harms associated with problem gambling, by providing safeguards to protect people from those harms, especially children.

Legislation to regulate the gambling sector was sought by advocates for many years, citing the impact of gambling harm.

Over Christmas, experts told the Irish Examiner consumers may be turning to gambling to help fund their way out of the cost-of-living crisis after Central Bank data showed gambling spend “spiking”.

Since it began its work, the GRAI has commissioned studies into the extent of problem gambling here, with data suggesting hundreds of thousands of people are being affected.

The most recent study published last week suggested those who gambled as a child — including with the likes of scratch cards and lotteries — are almost twice as likely to suffer from problem gambling as an adult.

With the latest commencement order from the minister, the GRAI now has many of its powers formalised, with a number of obligations put upon licenced operators around consumer protection measures.

This includes a prohibition on the use of credit cards as a means of payment for gambling, prohibiting a child to gamble, enabling customers to set limits on how much they gamble online, and obligations concerning the closure of accounts and refunds of monies.

The GRAI has been given investigative powers that allow for fines of up to €20m or 10% of a licensee’s turnover, whichever is greater, when a licensee has been found to have breached the Gambling Regulation Act 2024.

For those without a licence and operating illegally, the regulator will also have the power to apply to the court for an order directing them to cease operations.

According to a briefing given to operators by the GRAI on the licensing process, those required to register this year include betting firms operating in person. The requirements to register for charitable or philanthropic purposes will notc take effect until 2027 or 2028.

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There will be “fit and proper” checks on those who will hold the gambling licence, with an “account officer” having potential liability if an offence is committed.

“Therefore, all account officers must be of fit and proper standing, and fully appreciate the serious nature of the role they are undertaking,” the regulator said.

As well as that, it said it would undertake “boots-on-the-ground" assessments of a location being used for gambling and that will also include engagement and consultation with local authorities.