The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) has formally commenced its licensing regime following the activation of key enforcement provisions under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024. The move establishes, for the first time, a single regulator with the authority to license operators, impose significant financial penalties, and pursue court-backed enforcement against unlicensed gambling activity.
The commencement order represents a decisive break from Ireland’s fragmented legacy system and completes a multi-year regulatory transition that has reshaped the country’s gambling oversight model.
Key Takeaways: What This Means for Operators in Ireland
- Licensing becomes mandatory: Operators offering gambling services in Ireland must now hold a licence or face judicial enforcement.
- Compliance exposure increases: Administrative fines of up to €20m or 10% of annual turnover materially elevate regulatory risk.
- Transition planning is time-critical: Operators relying on legacy permissions must prepare for licence migration ahead of 2026 deadlines.
- Payments and product design are affected: Mandatory safeguards will alter onboarding, funding methods and player controls.
- Unlicensed supply faces real pressure: Court-backed enforcement tools reduce tolerance for grey-market operations.
Licensing Powers Now in Force
The commencement order enables GRAI to accept and assess licence applications for both remote and land-based gambling activities, consolidating oversight within a single authority for the first time. This development follows earlier legislative milestones that outlined the shift toward a modern regulatory framework, now fully reflected in Ireland’s gambling market structure.
Jim O’Callaghan TD, Ireland’s Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, said,
Today marks another important step towards replacing Ireland’s outdated gambling laws with a streamlined and simplified licensing framework. 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.
Under the Act, GRAI’s responsibilities include licensing, supervision, compliance monitoring and enforcement across the betting and gaming verticals. Operators that fail to meet licence conditions may face escalating regulatory action, ranging from corrective notices to licence suspension or revocation.
Importantly, the regulator may now apply to the High Court to compel unlicensed operators to cease offering services in Ireland, significantly strengthening enforcement compared with the previous administrative-only regime.
Financial Sanctions and Enforcement Escalation
Under the new framework, GRAI may impose administrative fines of up to €20m or 10% of an operator’s global annual turnover, whichever is higher. This sanctioning power aligns Ireland with tougher European enforcement models and introduces meaningful financial consequences for non-compliance.
According to the Department of Justice, the framework is designed to ensure that enforcement action is proportionate but effective, with a clear escalation path from administrative remedies to judicial intervention where required.
This shift marks a departure from Ireland’s historically permissive approach and puts sustained regulatory engagement at the centre of market participation.
Transition Timeline and Regulatory Continuity
Operators currently active under existing permissions are not required to cease operations immediately, but the Act establishes defined transition periods:
- Remote gambling licences: transition window closes from July 2026
- Land-based licences: transition window closes from December 2026
These timelines reflect the phased implementation approach set out during earlier stages of the legislation’s passage, including guidance issued when the Act’s enforcement architecture was first detailed.
While the transition periods provide short-term continuity, regulators have emphasised that early licence preparation is expected, particularly given the scale of compliance requirements involved.
Immediate Operational Implications
The regulator’s priorities for licensing efficiency, monitoring, compliance and consumer protection are outlined in its 2025–2027 strategy statement, providing a roadmap for how enforcement and supervisory expectations will be operationalised over the next three years.
Payments and Player Safeguards
The Act introduces mandatory restrictions on certain payment methods, including credit cards, alongside enhanced age-verification and player-protection mechanisms. These measures will require changes to payment processing, onboarding workflows and user interface design.
Marketing and Advertising Controls
Advertising activity will be subject to tighter limits, particularly where content may reach minors or vulnerable audiences. Marketing strategies, affiliate oversight and creative standards will require review to ensure alignment with the new regulatory environment.
Governance and Compliance Structures
Operators must demonstrate robust governance, internal controls and reporting systems. Compliance under the new regime is continuous rather than event-driven, requiring sustained regulatory engagement rather than one-off approvals.
Market Structure and Competitive Impact
Ireland’s move to a centralised licensing system reduces legal ambiguity but raises entry thresholds. Larger operators with established compliance infrastructure are better positioned to absorb increased regulatory costs, while smaller or offshore-focused businesses may face higher barriers to sustainable market access.
Simultaneously, the application of court-backed measures systematically, rather than selectively, could enhance channelisation through consistent enforcement against unlicensed supply.
With licensing now active and enforcement tools fully operational, Ireland’s gambling market has entered a high-scrutiny phase. Regulatory compliance, governance quality and consumer safeguards are no longer differentiators but baseline requirements for market participation.
With licensing active and enforcement powers fully operational, Ireland has entered a high-scrutiny regulatory phase. Compliance, governance and consumer safeguards are no longer differentiators but baseline requirements for market participation.