Ireland’s gambling regulator opens up consultation on licensing plans

The all-new Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) has officially opened its first public consultation as it seeks opinions on the proposed licensing regulations.

This comes after the board was signed into action by the Minister for Justice in early March, with the independent watchdog being responsible for licensing bookmakers, and casinos, and helping to tackle addiction.

It is also in charge of ensuring gambling companies in Ireland have the relevant licenses and are following the new laws.

The public consultation process began on Monday (April 7) and will commence until May 5, with the first set of planned regulations laid out.

This includes: “Set the application fee for applications for betting (in person and remote) and gaming (in person and remote) licences. This is provided for in section 38 of the 2024 Act.

“The second set of regulations we plan to make will:

“b. Set the duration for which a gambling licence remains in force. This is provided for under section 108 of the 2024 Act.

“AND

“ c. Set out some additional conditions which will apply to gambling licences. This is provided for under section 129 of the 2024 Act.”

Ahead of these regulations being finalized, the watchdog is hoping to hear the views of stakeholders, including operators and the public.

A live consultation page has been created, with submissions to be limited to a maximum of 1,000 words. Some of the feedback may be published.

While this is the first set of proposals, the GRAI has stated on its website that “we will be making further regulations in the future and, where appropriate, there will be a consultation in relation to these further regulations at that time.”

When the regulator was first established, Minister O’Callaghan described it as marking a ‘new era.’

“The establishment of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland is a further step towards replacing Ireland’s outdated gambling laws with a streamlined and simplified licensing framework, which will reflect the nature of modern gambling and take into account the harms associated with problem gambling, providing safeguards to protect people from those harms, especially children,” he said in a press release.

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