The 12 points that operators and providers should know about the new gambling regulation in Ireland
Ireland reinvents its regulated market: the changes that redefine the sector and how it will affect operators
The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) has opened a consultation until August 20 on three regulations that will determine the authorized games, the records that operators must keep and the information that online platforms will have to provide to their users. The initiative represents a new step in the transformation of a market that is replacing historical and fragmented legislation with centralised, digital supervision extended to the entire technological chain.
Ireland is moving from gambling legislation built in layers over decades to a regulatory system designed to oversee an increasingly digital industry.
The Gambling Regulation Act 2024, enacted on October 23, 2024, laid the foundations for this new model: a single regulator, a broader licensing system, oversight over operators and suppliers, advertising restrictions, payment control, and new obligations on data and player protection.
The latest move came on August 5, 2026, when the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland opened a public consultation on three regulations aimed at developing sections 86, 152 and 173 of the law.
The proposals affect the catalog of games that can be marketed, the records and accounts that licensees must maintain and the information that online platforms will have to show and send to their customers.
The consultation is aimed at operators, suppliers, healthcare entities, interested organizations and citizens. It will remain open until 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 20, 2026. The GRAI will analyze the contributions before approving the regulations. Official information of the consultation.
Reform begins with the institutional architecture. The Gambling Regulation Act 2024 replaces a fragmented framework underpinned, among other rules, by the Betting Act 1931 and the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956.
The Act created the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland as an independent body responsible for licensing and regulating betting, gaming, certain lotteries and the technological products and services related to these activities.
The GRAI was formally established on 5 March 2025, with Anne-Marie Caulfield at the helm of the organisation. Its mission combines three main objectives: to regulate the industry, to protect the public from the harms associated with gambling, and to increase awareness of the risks of excessive or compulsive gambling. Official constitution of the GRAI.
Technology is at the heart of the game from the outset. The agency received an endowment of 9.1 million euros for 2025, including 4 million euros for ICT investment. By 2026, the Irish government increased its funding to €9.9 million.
The operational leap came in February 2026. Following the approval of the corresponding entry into force order, the authority opened its application system for remote betting, face-to-face betting and remote intermediation licenses on February 9. Opening of the licensing system.
The process is progressive: the law was approved in 2024, the regulator began operating in 2025 and the different categories of licenses and obligations are being rolled out in phases during 2026.
The new framework distinguishes three broad categories: Business-to-Consumer licenses, Business-to-Business licenses, and authorizations for charitable or philanthropic activities.
The B2C field includes betting, gaming and certain lotteries, both face-to-face and remote. However, the opening of the different modalities is not taking place simultaneously.
The B2B dimension is particularly relevant for an industry where the visible operator is only the last layer of an extensive technology chain.
The GRAI includes within its B2B perimeter products such as gaming-related machines, equipment and software. It also includes services such as quota provisioning, hosting, risk and fraud management, player protection tools, and software installation, maintenance, or updating. GRAI information on B2B licensing.
This shifts some regulatory compliance from the operator to the suppliers that support their product. The choice of a technology partner will no longer depend solely on price, performance or speed of integration, but also on their ability to operate within the Irish regulated system and demonstrate that their products meet approved standards.
The foreseeable consequence is an increase in due diligence on suppliers and an advantage for companies able to reuse their compliance systems in several jurisdictions.
The first of the projects now submitted for consultation is the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 (Prescribed Games) Regulations 2026.
Section 86 obliges the GRAI to approve a list of games that may be offered under a gaming license. Subsequently, each licence must indicate which of those games its owner is specifically authorised to market.
It will not be enough, therefore, to have a generic casino or gaming license. The product catalog becomes an explicit element of the authorization.
The law contemplates licenses for face-to-face, remote and combined gambling. An operator may be authorised to offer certain games from establishments located in Ireland, by digital means or through both channels.
This will have consequences on business planning, supplier integration, content certification, and new product onboarding. A game included in the GRAI general list may not be offered automatically by any licensee: it must also be within the scope of their individual authorization. Official text of section 86.
The measure also reinforces the relationship between B2C and B2B licenses. The operator will have to check not only that gambling is permitted, but that its provider, software and associated services meet the relevant technical requirements.
The second draft is the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 (Records and Accounts) Regulations 2026.
Section 152 allows the authority to determine which records and accounts licensees must maintain, differentiating the obligations according to the type of license or the activities carried out.
The GRAI may also establish the manner in which the information is to be retained. The law allows data to be kept in a format that is not directly readable, provided that it can later be transformed into understandable information.
For a digital operator, the difficulty is not only in storing data. The information can be found divided between the wallet, payment systems, player management platform, game engines, content providers, anti-fraud tools and reporting systems.
Future regulation will require that such data be able to be reconstructed, related and presented in a consistent manner. Regulatory traceability will force reconciling systems that have historically been able to function as separate silos.
Section 152 further assigns probative value to these records. In a proceeding initiated under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024, a certificate signed by an authorized officer and based on the licensee's records may be admitted as proof of the facts contained therein.
The provision does not apply to the so-called Segregated Customer Accounts, the separate accounts intended to safeguard players' funds, which have a specific regime. Official text of section 152.
For operators, this regulation may require them to review retention policies, access controls, reconciliation of operations, activity histories, data export, and contractual agreements with suppliers.
The third draft is the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 (Provision of Information to Account-Holders) Regulations 2026 and directly affects remote gambling license holders.
Section 173 mandates that customers be provided with information on how to recognize the characteristics of excessive or compulsive gambling and its adverse effects.
The tools available to play in order to avoid excessive behaviour, the mechanisms to block the access of the user or a minor to gaming platforms and the existing assistance services must also be informed.
This information shall be prominently displayed on the operator's homepage and on each online platform from which a gaming activity may be accessed.
The rule also introduces periodic alerts that will have to detail the player's winnings and losses and the time spent on gambling activities through their account.
The frequency of these communications is not closed in the law. It will be determined by the GRAI through the regulatory development that is now submitted for consultation. The authority has also issued practical guidance to facilitate the implementation of the section.
Players must also have immediate access to their account balance and the amounts used to participate in each activity during the periods established by the regulator.
Player protection thus ceases to be a complementary functionality and becomes a verifiable technical requirement integrated into the interface itself.
Failure to comply constitutes a crime. In summary proceedings it can carry a class A fine, up to twelve months in prison or both. In the event of conviction by indictment, the penalty can reach a fine, up to five years in prison or both. Official text of section 173.
Input to the consultation must be submitted using the SurveyMonkey forms enabled by GRAI.
Those who wish to comment on more than one of the drafts will have to complete a separate response for each regulation. A single joint submission is not contemplated for the three subjects.
Documentation and forms are available in the official GARAI consultation section.
The deadline is Thursday, August 20, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.
The consultation is developed within a broader transformation that also reaches advertising.
Section 149 of the law prevents licensees from entering into agreements to advertise game content on on-demand audiovisual services, audio on demand services, or broadcasters between 5:30 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. The regulation creates a wide watershed that considerably limits the daytime window available for promotion. Text of section 149.
On social networks and video-sharing platforms, section 146 conditions advertising on the recipient having an account on that service and being subscribed to the licensee's own account.
For electronic communications such as email, SMS, or telephone, section 147 requires prior consent and an accessible mechanism to opt out of receiving advertising. Section 146 and Section 147.
Digital acquisition thus shifts from indiscriminate campaigns to audiences previously connected to the brand and whose relationship with the operator can be demonstrated.
The change has already reached the large digital intermediaries.
Google announced on May 27 that it would update its gambling and betting ads policy for Ireland from July 1, 2026.
Online operators must have a license issued by the GRAI and reapply for Google's advertising certification using their new regulatory credentials.
The company set September 1, 2026 as the deadline to complete the process. After that day, advertisers who have not successfully reapplied for certification will lose their authorization to run campaigns. Official Google Ads update.
For marketing departments, the new equation requires coordinating licensing, consent, segmentation, advertising certification and traceability of the recipient.
The reform also affects certain economic characteristics of gambling.
Annex 3 of the law sets a maximum payout of 10 euros and a maximum win of 3,000 euros for the so-called "relevant games".
These limits belong to the scope of gaming defined by the regulation. They should not be interpreted as a general limit of ten euros for sports betting. Annex 3 of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024.
For establishments and products that rely on high tickets, limits reduce the scope for strategies focused on high-value customers. Its final impact will depend on the type of license, the approved catalog and the combination of gaming, betting and lotteries.
The prohibition of credit is broader. Section 165 prohibits accepting credit card payments, granting credit to the participant or facilitating the provision of credit by a third party in connection with a gambling activity.
The prohibition also covers electronic or digital payments made with money previously loaded from a credit card. Failure to comply can be punished with a fine and penalties of up to five years in prison. Official text of section 165.
The Gambling Regulation Act 2024 also provides for the creation of a Social Impact Fund to fund research, education, training, treatment, intervention and awareness campaigns on the harms associated with gambling.
The GRAI explains that the fund will be nourished by an annual contribution applied to gaming providers and calculated based on the turnover of each business. However, its final economic structure and the applicable amount have yet to be specified. Official information about the Social Impact Fund.
The authority is working with Pobal on a needs assessment and the development of the financing strategy.
Therefore, it would be premature to model the fund as a closed percentage over the GGR or GGY. The available information speaks of a contribution linked to the turnover, but not of a definitive rate already approved.
The sum of licenses, B2B controls, reporting, record keeping, account monitoring, advertising restrictions and product adaptation increases the fixed costs of access and permanence in the Irish market.
These costs weigh proportionately more on small operators. Large groups with multi-jurisdictional platforms can reuse verification processes, responsible gaming tools, reporting systems and supplier controls in different countries.
A small brand, on the other hand, must assume a greater proportion of the technological and regulatory cost to access a single market.
There is no sufficiently homogeneous public data to attribute accurate odds to the main operators without distinguishing between GGR, bet volume, retail and online. The historical concentration around large bookmakers is evident, but assigning percentages without a comparable metric would introduce a precision that the available sources do not allow to sustain.
The likely consequence is greater professionalization, a growth in demand for RegTech solutions and a more demanding competitive filter.
Ireland is building a market where licensing, product, advertising, payments, data and player protection are all part of a single supervisory infrastructure.
The August consultation on sections 86, 152 and 173 is particularly important because it moves the new framework from general principles to day-to-day operations.
For operators, it's not just about getting a license. It will be necessary to demonstrate on an ongoing basis that each game is authorised, that providers comply with standards, that operations can be rebuilt, that commercial communications respect restrictions and that the user receives verifiable information about their activity.
The main lesson for operators and suppliers is to anticipate compliance by design. When the regulator requires traceability, alerts, B2B controls and individually authorised products, adapting the technology later is much more expensive than incorporating it from the beginning.
