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ARTICLE · 12 AUGUST 2026

Irish Gambling Regulatory Regime – Implementation Update

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Ireland's Gambling Regulatory Authority is now actively licensing operators and enforcing the comprehensive regulatory framework established by the Gambling Regulation Act 2024. With remote operators already transitioned and in-person operators facing a December 2026 deadline, the GRAI has implemented wide-ranging enforcement powers including administrative sanctions up to €20 million and criminal provisions for unlicensed activities. Recent CJEU case law highlights critical compliance considerations

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The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (the “GRAI”) is actively issuing licences for remote and in-person gambling and enforcing the regulatory framework established by the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 (the “Act”).

S.I. No. 31/2026 brought a substantial body of Act provisions into force on 5 February 2026, including those enabling the GRAI to grant the various categories of gambling licence and establishing the civil and criminal compliance and enforcement framework. 1

A further commencement order, S.I. No. 304/2026, has since been published, bringing the remaining provisions of Chapter 4 of Part 2 (Social Impact Fund) into operation on 30 June 2026.

Licensing

As set out in our previous update, the Act provides for several licence categories – each available for in-person and/or remote gambling – comprising Business to Consumer (B2C) and Business to Business (B2B) gambling licences, licences for charitable or philanthropic purposes, gaming licences, and lottery licences.2

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