Ireland’s justice minister, Jim O’Callaghan, signed the commencement order for the Gambling Regulation Act 2024, enabling the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland to begin operating. The authority will oversee licensing and regulation across land-based and online betting and gaming, B2C and B2B activity, and most lotteries; its seven members began their terms on 5 March 2025.
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Ireland’s GRAI outlines application guidance and says it will introduce licence applications in phases. The authority says existing gaming licence holders should keep renewing their licences, while new applicants should continue dealing with Revenue as transition arrangements progress.
Application guidance documents for operators pursuing a gambling licence have been published by Ireland's Gambling Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRAI), which plans to accept applications for different licence types in stages. According to the guidance, the staged rollout is meant to smooth the shift from the existing licensing system to the GRAI's new procedures. Details on the phasing are to be posted in the months ahead while the GRAI completes transition arrangements with the licensing authorities already in place, the guidance states.
Reportedly, Funding constraints at GRAI are delaying online gambling licences in Ireland. The constraints also limit enforcement against overseas operators serving Irish customers.
For 2026 the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland has been given €13.35m, while it asked for €26m. According to the regulator, that shortfall will push back reforms it had planned and restrict how closely it can watch the gambling sector in the near term. It estimates the market it oversees turns over €12bn–€14bn a year, and it says the money gap puts at risk its licensing of online gambling and its pursuit of companies based abroad that take bets from Irish customers.
Ireland’s Gambling Regulatory Authority said it received no protected disclosures during the reporting period from 5 March to 31 December 2025. The authority publishes an annual report under Section 22 of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014.
The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland has warned against handling customers’ bets through pub or staff accounts without the required licence, according to a report. Ireland’s Gambling Regulation Act 2024 requires online bettors to use their own gambling accounts; the report says enforcement is leading hundreds of pubs to close these services.
Betting companies have withdrawn services supporting informal wagering through Irish pub accounts. The report links the withdrawals to enforcement under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 and GRAI’s assumption of regulatory responsibility on 5 February. Customers collecting at least €2,000 must provide photographic identification and proof of address, while payments must go to the betting account holder.