REGULATION IN IRELAND
operators. The net effect is that operators will not be able to run advertising except to subscribers/followers, which is extremely difficult from a practical perspective. How this will work in practice remains to be seen and we await guidance from the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland on this point, however, operators may end up in a scenario where they will have to switch their accounts to a “private” or “followers/ subscribers-only mode”, such that any content and posts (as well as any pushed advertising) will not be visible to a user unless they are a subscriber. The “watershed” (section 149) Section 149 of the Act prohibits licensees from entering into an arrangement with an audio-visual on-demand media service, an on-demand sound service or a broadcaster 5 for the purposes of advertising “relevant content” between the hours of 5.30 am and 9.00 pm. This effectively creates a watershed between 9.00 pm and 5.30 am, during which time relevant content is permitted. It is important to note that this restriction does not apply to advertising on electronic communications, social media services or video-sharing platform services. The wording of the Act refers to a licensee entering into an arrangement with an audio-visual on-demand media service, an on-demand sound service or a broadcaster to advertise relevant content. Therefore, the watershed would not apply to the incidental broadcast of a licensee’s name or logo at a sporting event (e.g. on advertising hoardings at a football match or horse racing meeting). Similarly, arrangements between the producers of content and a licensee which are published on an audio-visual on-demand media service or an on-demand sound service would not be caught by the watershed provisions. The watershed is undoubtedly one of the most scrutinized aspects of the Act. During the parliamentary debates on the legislation, there were calls for a blanket prohibition on gambling advertising (similar to the prohibitions on cigarette advertising in Ireland). Similar restrictions were introduced
in Ireland in the context of alcohol advertising, which is prohibited in certain places (e.g. public parks, playgrounds, on public transport, and in or near schools). It is also banned at sporting events and events aimed at children. However, zero- alcohol products (with similar branding to their full-strength equivalents) are being marketed in these locations, with the government facing criticism for allowing the alcohol companies to circumvent the legislation. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Irish government has held firm on the watershed particularly having regard to the framing of the Act as a public health measure. Electronic communications (section 147) Section 147 of the Act provides that advertising “relevant content” by way of electronic communications (e.g. email, SMS or telephone) is also prohibited unless the recipient has consented to receiving advertising by means of electronic communication. These communications are also required to have an easily accessible mechanism to enable the recipient to stop receiving the advertising content. It is unclear as to what level of consent is required on the part of the recipient. The wording of section 147 refers to the recipient having “given consent” which suggests this would require some level of affirmative consent (e.g. ticking a box to allow for the communications), rather than ticking a box to opt-out (and to state what communications the recipient is consenting to (i.e. email, text, etc.)). We await further guidance from the GRAI on this point. Prohibited material in advertisements (section 148) In addition to the above, section 148 of the Act prohibits any advertisements containing relevant content which portrays gambling as attractive to children, condones or encourages child gambling or excessive or compulsive gambling, or which misleads, deceives or confuses the public about the social or financial advantages of gambling.
5 A broadcaster is defined by reference to the Irish Broadcasting Act 2009 as “a person who supplies a compilation of programme material for the purpose of its being transmitted, relayed or distributed as a broadcasting service (whether that person transmits, relays or distributes that material as such a service or not)”. A broadcasting service is defined as “a service which comprises a compilation of programme material of any description and which is transmitted, relayed or distributed by means of an electronic communications network, directly or indirectly for si- multaneous or near-simultaneous reception by the general public, whether that material is actually received or not, and where the programmes are provided in a pre-scheduled and linear order, but does not include … (a) a service provided in a non-linear manner where each user of the service chooses a programme from a catalogue of programmes, or (b) any other service which is provided by way of the internet, if the service does not provide audiovisual programmes”
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IMGL MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2025
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