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Wednesday, 5 March 2025, marks the formal establishment of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (the GRAI) which is now operational.
The GRAI has been preparing for this important milestone for some time. While the Gambling Regulation Act, 2024, which provides for its establishment, was only passed into last law October, Ms Ann Marie Caulfield was appointed as CEO designate to the nascent GRAI in September 2022. Since then, she has been engaging extensively with stakeholders, recruiting personnel, and preparing to operationalise the new regulatory agency as soon as possible following the enactment of the legislation necessary to establish it on a statutory basis.
This latest development was announced in a press release by the Department of Justice confirming that Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Mr Jim O'Callaghan signed a commencement order in relation to the provisions of the Act to enable the GRAI to be established.
Although the commencement order itself hasn’t yet been published as at the time of this update, the press release indicates that it is in respect of sections 14 and 17 of the Act, which relate to appointment of seven members to the GRAI, including a chairperson (each of whom shall hold office for a period of three to four years, although they can re-appointed for a further term).
Membership of the GRAI
According to the press release, the chairperson role will be filled by Mr. Paul Quinn (former CEO of the Office of Government Procurement and former Director at Eircom). The other members, who come from a diverse range of backgrounds and bring regulatory, health, legal and industry experience are:
What comes next?
The appointment of the members of the GRAI is an important step towards the broader new regulatory regime for gambling in Ireland, as provided for in the Act, coming into effect.
While the commencement order hasn’t been published at the time of writing, we expect it to focus on the establishment of the GRAI. The substantive provisions of the Act (including the relevant obligations for operators and others arising under it) are likely to be commenced subsequently in parts in the coming weeks and months.
Once the Act is fully in effect, the functions and powers of the GRAI will include licensing, supervision, enforcement, and public awareness initiatives. However, we anticipate that the GRAI will prioritise getting the new licensing regime up and running first. In this regard, it has posted on its website that it is adopting a phased approach to the introduction of its new licensing process. While there isn’t yet certainty around the timing of this, it has also indicated that existing remote betting operators should in the meantime proceed with renewing their current licences – which are due to expire on 30 June 2025 – under the pre-existing regime under Betting Act, 1931 (as amended).
We are monitoring developments closely and will continue to keep you updated. In the meantime, for further details on the new gambling regime, see our previous briefings here.
For further information in relation to this topic, please contact Katie O'Connor, partner, Joe Kelly, partner, Denise Daly Byrne, partner, Laura Quinn, associate or any member of ALG's Betting, Gaming & Licensing team.
Date published: 6 March 2025
