Ireland: gambling regulation and licensing

Ireland is mid-transition, and the transition is the most substantial gambling reform in the country's history. The Gambling Regulation Act 2024 created the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, which became operational on 5 March 2025 and for the first time brings online casino and gaming under a single statutory licensing regime alongside betting and lotteries, with the National Lottery excepted. Before it, remote betting was licensed and subject to a 2% betting duty while online gaming sat essentially unregulated. Licensing is being rolled out in phases across B2C, B2B and charity categories rather than in a single opening, so the market's shape will not be visible for some time. That phasing matters for anyone planning entry: the sequence determines when each vertical becomes lawful and which operators are first through. The Act also carries an unusually strict advertising and inducement regime by common-law standards, including restrictions on the promotional offers operators have historically used to acquire customers in Ireland. The open question is enforcement capacity. A new authority standing up a full licensing regime while simultaneously policing an established grey market is a demanding first few years, and how firmly the GRAI acts early will set expectations for the decade that follows.

Regulator

Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI)

Regulator type

Dedicated regulator

Headline tax

Not yet verified

Licence required

Yes

Minimum age

Not yet verified

Tax base

Ireland currently applies a betting duty of 2% on bets placed with bookmakers and a betting intermediary duty of 25% on commission earned by betting exchanges. Any additional levy under the new regime (for example to fund the Social Impact Fund) will be set as the GRAI framework beds in.

Capital

Dublin

Currency

EUR

Official languages

Irish, English

Licence required

Yes

Application window

Not yet verified

Local establishment required

Not yet verified

Local server required

Not yet verified

Barriers to entry

The licensing framework is being introduced in phases from 2025; operators should track GRAI commencement orders and the opening of each licence category.

Headline GGR tax

Not yet verified

Effective date

Not yet verified

Turnover tax

2%

Tax base

Ireland currently applies a betting duty of 2% on bets placed with bookmakers and a betting intermediary duty of 25% on commission earned by betting exchanges. Any additional levy under the new regime (for example to fund the Social Impact Fund) will be set as the GRAI framework beds in.

Advertising permitted

Yes

Watershed

05:30 to 21:00 on broadcast, audiovisual on-demand and on-demand sound services, under section 149, so advertising is confined to the window between 21:00 and 05:30. The watershed has been contested by broadcasters and by racing interests, who argue it undermines the viability of televised racing.

Affiliate rules

Affiliates are not separately licensed, but advertising arranged on a licensee behalf falls within the licensee obligations under the Act.

Sponsorship rules

The Act restricts gambling sponsorship, in particular of events, teams and activities where a significant proportion of participants or the audience are children, and of anything aimed at people under 18.

Celebrity and influencer rules

Advertising must not be designed in a way likely to appeal to children, which constrains the use of figures, characters and imagery with a child following. Promotion arranged by a licensee remains the licensee responsibility.

Social media rules

The Act covers advertising on websites, apps and social media, and gives the Authority power to require that a person be able to opt out of receiving gambling advertising on those services.

Bonus advertising rules

The Act restricts inducements, including offers targeted at individual customers and free or discounted play used to promote gambling, and prohibits inducements to a person who has requested exclusion.

Mandatory warnings

The Authority is empowered to prescribe safer-gambling information and warnings in advertising through regulations.

Penalties for breach

Breach of the advertising provisions is an offence, with fines and, for the most serious offences, imprisonment available, alongside the Authority administrative sanctions and its power to act against a licence.

The near-term story is the phased rollout of GRAI licensing, the advertising watershed and other player-protection measures in the Act, and the funding levy for the new Social Impact Fund. Operators active in Ireland are moving from a largely unregulated footing to a full licensing regime.

Who regulates gambling in Ireland?

The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI), established under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 and operational since 5 March 2025.

1. Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI)

   Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland

   Tier 1Accessed 4 Aug 2026
2. Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland

   Citizens Information (Government of Ireland)

   Tier 2Accessed 4 Aug 2026
3. Gambling Laws and Regulations 2026 - Ireland (betting duty)

   ICLG (International Comparative Legal Guides)

   Tier 3Accessed 4 Aug 2026
4. Gambling Regulation Act 2024 (No. 35 of 2024)

   Irish Statute Book

   Tier 1Accessed 30 Aug 2026Published 23 Oct 2024