knowledge 6 March 2025 |

And They’re Off! The GRAI becomes Operational

On 04 March 2025, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan signed the order to commence the relevant parts of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 (the “Act”) establishing the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (the “GRAI”) on a statutory basis, and enabling the GRAI to become operational. The signing of the commencement order marks the first provisions of the Act to come into effect, introducing a new era for the regulation of gambling in Ireland.

Minister O’Callaghan also approved the appointment of seven members of the GRAI who will ultimately be responsible for regulating and licensing all gambling providers in Ireland. The GRAI will consist of six members and a Chairperson. The appointments to the GRAI will be for an initial period of three or four years, and members may be reappointed for a second four-year term. A CEO Designate for the Authority, Ms Anne Marie Caulfield, has been in place since September 2022.

Both the establishment of the GRAI and the appointments of the members of the GRAI formally came into effect on Wednesday, 05 March 2025.

Minister O’Callaghan noted that the GRAI’s operations and powers would commence on a phased basis with an initial area of focus being the licensing process. Interestingly, it was suggested that applications for certain licence types would commence within the coming year.

A copy of the Department of Justice press release is available here.

GRAI website

As of 05 March 2025, the GRAI website (www.grai.ie) is also operational, with the GRAI confirming a number of important points regarding the new regulatory and licensing regime.  In addition, the GRAI has announced that they will be publishing regular newsletters which will provide updates on developments in the licensing regime.

Licensing

• In terms of licensing, the GRAI has confirmed that it will be taking a phased approach to licensing to ensure there is an efficient transition to the new licensing regime.
• The GRAI is engaging with the Revenue Commissioners (“Revenue”) on betting and gaming licenses and with the Court Service and An Garda Síochána regarding lotteries and has confirmed that all existing licence holders should continue to renew licences and all new applicants should engage with the relevant body.
• It has been confirmed that Revenue will continue to issue betting licences (bookmaker, remote bookmaker and remote betting intermediary) in 2025 with these licences lasting for a period of 12 months.  It is as of yet unclear whether, once these licences come up for renewal in 2026, they will be the first licences that will come up for consideration under the new regime overseen by the GRAI. 
• The GRAI has stated that B2B licences will not be included in the first phases of the new licensing regime.
• Importantly for operators, a combination of in-person and remote betting, gaming and lottery licences will not be available initially under the new licensing regime due to the transition from the current licensing process. Therefore, operators will need to complete separate applications where they offer both in-person and remote services.  However, the GRAI has confirmed that licences combining in-person and remote activities will be available in the future.

Social Impact Fund

• The GRAI has stated that a full assessment of needs and funding strategy is currently being developed to determine how to allocate the funding of the social impact fund in the most useful and impactful way. The GRAI has engaged with Pobal (a state sponsored body responsible for supporting social inclusion and development in Ireland) to lead this project.

Further updates on licensing will be available on the Licensing Phasing and Existing Licensees sections of the website.

In the coming weeks we will publish further updates on any developments under the Act.  If you have any questions on the Act, please contact Alan Heuston or any member of our Betting and Gaming Group.