Finally… a new era for gambling regulation in Ireland

On 16 October 2024, the long-awaited Gambling Regulation Bill 2022 now completed its 20-month passage through the Irish parliamentary process. In this briefing, we examine some of the final changes to the Bill during a number of detailed debates in recent weeks as it accelerated towards enactment. We also plot out the key steps and milestones towards it being commenced and taking operational effect. This is likely to be sometime in 2025, with the exact timing to be determined.

Recap

The Bill establishes a comprehensive legal, regulatory and licensing framework for all forms of gambling in Ireland (with the exception of the National Lottery). It is a much-needed reform measure which will transform the regulation of gambling in Ireland in a number of ways.

• Going forward, all gambling operators offering any type of gambling activities to Irish customers – including gaming, betting and lotteries – will require an Irish B2C licence, with specific forms of licences for charitable and non-profit organisations such as sports clubs which have traditionally relied on such activities for fundraising.
• There will also be new B2B licensing requirements for those involved in offering “gambling related services” to Irish licensees. 
• A newly established independent regulator, the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (the GRAI), will be responsible for implementing the new licensing regime, monitoring compliance and taking enforcement action where necessary. It will have robust powers to ensure the requirements of the legislation are adhered to and will have a range of enforcement tools at its disposal (including the ability to apply fines of up to €20,000,000 or 10% of turnover if greater), where contraventions occur.

Last minute changes

Well over a decade in the making,[1] the Bill was heavily debated during its passage through parliament, with some heated exchanges on key issues including advertising and inducements in recent weeks. Opposition politicians proposed extensive amendments to the Bill, although very few of these were accepted, with the final changes being largely clarificatory.

Some highlights to note are outlined below.

• Advertising: An issue of focus since the Bill was published in December 2022, Minister Browne resisted calls from some opposition members for an outright ban on advertising,  notwithstanding that the Bill itself contains material restrictions on the scope of what will be permitted.  The Minister, who has been responsible for driving the reforms, has consistently asserted that gambling is a lawful and legitimate activity, emphasising that the regulatory approach adopted by the Bill is to set a series of parameters.
  
  At the same time, the GRAI is being empowered to regulate advertising on an ongoing and evolving basis, through further regulations, keeping pace with changes in societal attitudes and needs. Ultimately, the only material changes were to provide ‘carve outs’ allowing for advertising by holders of ‘charitable licences’. The Minister held firm on the introduction of a ban on advertising between the hours of 5:30am. and 9:00pm, despite significant lobbying from the horseracing sector in particular.
• Inducements: The ability of gambling operators to provide promotions has also been a key focus of the Bill since it was published. This first draft of the legislation included a complete ban on offering of inducements, but material amendments were made to limit this to a prohibition on offering them to specific persons or groups of persons – but not to the general public.
  
  While some last-minute changes were made, the final position reflects the Government’s determination to prevent individualised incentives, aimed at encouraging people to gamble, but permitting promotional offers that are open to everyone. This is subject to the ability of the Minister to make regulations restricting certain types of inducements, but only where there is a public policy rationale for doing so.
• Narrowing of definition of ‘gambling related service’ regarding customer funds: Another feature of the Bill is the wide scope of businesses which may be subject to B2B licensing, because of the broad definition of “gambling related service”. The settled text still potentially includes a wide range of businesses, but the reference to “facilities for the holding and managing of customer funds” has been removed. This will be welcomed by financial services providers who could otherwise, have potentially been caught by the B2B licensing provisions through servicing gambling operators.  

What’s next?

The passing of the Bill represents a significant landmark in gambling regulation in Ireland. While operators should take steps now in terms of upping their level of readiness for the new regulatory regime, a number of stages must still occur before the Bill becomes operational.

• Signature and commencement: The Bill will now be passed to the President for signature. This will formalise the enactment of the legislation but the timing of when the legislation will take effect is a matter for the Minister for Justice who must ‘commence’ the Act once it is signed. While a commencement date has not yet been indicated, this is likely to be influenced by the GRAI’s operational readiness (and potentially the upcoming general election, although this is unlikely to cause a material delay).
• Establishment of new regulator: In parallel with the legislative process, the GRAI has been working hard behind the scenes to get ready to take on its regulatory functions as soon as possible after the passing of the legislation. However, it has been mooted that the GRAI may need some months yet before it is ready to take up its role.
  
  CEO designate, Anne Marie Caulfield, who was appointed two years ago, has been building up staffing and resources, and more recently it is understood that the nascent regulator has been focused on developing licensing procedures, regulatory codes and industry guidelines. It has also been working with the Department of Justice’s Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Unit in preparation for taking over responsibility for this function from the DoJ.
• Transitional arrangements: Final amendments to the Bill have provided some welcome clarity for existing licence holders. We now know that licences will remain in force until expiry, which in the case of remote bookmakers and remote betting intermediaries, is 30 June 2025. An interesting detail in the final amendments to the legislation, is that the two-year period for these betting licences (and for bookmakers licences which expire on 30 November 2025) issued under the existing regime under the Betting Act, 1931, have been reduced from 2 years to 1 year.
  
  It would seem to be envisaged that the renewal of these licences under the existing regime may be required, before the new licensing system is operational. So if these provisions are commenced the renewal of a bookmakers bricks and mortar licence from 30 November 2025, will only be for a year until 30 November 2026, while the renewal of remote licences from 30 June 2025, will also be for a year until 30 June 2026.
• Taxes and fees: The Bill does not deal with tax, but it is worth noting that no specific changes have been mooted more generally for now. The position remains that betting operators must discharge betting duty, while gaming generally remains subject to VAT. The annual Finance Bill contains a number of amendments relating to betting duty but these are intended to update relevant definitions. The intention seems to be the retention of the status quo for now, and an increase to betting duty of 0.5% mooted a number of weeks ago, was not implemented as part of the recent annual budget.
  
  In relation to fees and charges more generally, no detail is yet available on any relevant licence fee amounts. However, we understand that the GRAI is looking at this. In particular, the GRAI is reported to be getting ready to start collecting mandatory contributions to the Social Impact Fund by mid-year next year, having already started collecting data to determine the appropriate rate and mechanism for the levy (although this will require prior approval from the Minister of Justice).

We will be publishing further detailed insights on the new regulatory regime in the weeks ahead to help you get prepared. For specific advice on navigating these changes, and how they may specifically apply to you and your business, please contact Katie O’Connor, partner, Joe Kelly, partner, Denise Daly Byrne, partner, Laura Quinn, associate or any member of our market leading specialist Betting, Gaming & Licensing group.