Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Jim O’Callaghan has signed an order to commence key aspects of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024, allowing the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) to begin issuing remote and in-person betting licenses.
Minister O’Callaghan said:
The Authority can issue licenses for new entrants as soon as is feasible, license remote operators from 1 July 2026 and in-person operators from 1 December 2026, when their existing licenses, issued by the Office of the Revenue Commissioners, expire.
The signing of the commencement order will also begin the necessary enforcement, oversight and complaints mechanism within the new licensing framework and otherwise amends and repeals existing legislation on the statute book.
Under Ireland’s new gambling framework, the regulator can issue fines of up to €20m or 10% of a licensee’s turnover, whichever is greater, to operators that breach the rules.
Meanwhile, the legislation includes several RG measures such as a credit card ban, mandatory ability for users to set limits, and prohibitions on offering betting to under-18s.
