REGULATION IN IRELAND
Upping the ante: Ireland’s new advertising restrictions will have a significant impact on operators ANALYSIS OF IRELAND’S GAMBLING REGULATION ACT FROM ALAN HEUSTON AND IAN HANRAHAN
T he Gambling Regulation Act 2024 (the “Act”) was signed into law in October last year. The operative provisions of the Act as they apply to licensing and advertising are subject to commencement orders, which means that, for the time being at least, the vast majority of the provisions are not yet in effect. As such, the law in Ireland is effectively in a state of flux – transitional provisions have been included which provide that the existing legislation will continue to apply until the relevant provisions of the Act become operative. As the majority of the provisions of the Act apply to licensees (i.e. the holder of a license under the Act), it is expected that the Act will come into effect when the first licenses are issued by the new Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (“GRAI”) which is expected to take place in July 2026. In this article, we will focus on some of the advertising restrictions which will apply once the new regime comes into
effect. At the outset, it is important to point out that the Act has been framed by the Irish government as a public health measure designed to combat the issue of problem gambling in Ireland. Speaking on the passing of the Act last year, then Minister of State, James Browne, commented that “At its core, this legislation is a public health measure aimed at protecting our citizens from gambling harm, including younger people and those more vulnerable in our communities”. Given that the Act has been framed as a public health measure it will come as little surprise therefore that the Act contains many provisions which are focused on protecting players and minors from the potential harms which can arise from gambling.
What content is caught by the new restrictions? Many of the restrictions contained in the Act and which apply
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IMGL MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2025
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