It is expected that the Gambling Regulation Bill first proposed in 2022 will finally become law at some point this year – but what does the new legislation change for Irish punters?
The most visible change will be the creation of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, a body that will be awarded a wide array of powers to regulate the betting industry in Ireland.
The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland will effectively replace a variety of existing bodies, streamlining and simplifying how the gambling industry is regulated in the Emerald Isle.
Similarly, the Gambling Regulation Bill will revamp pre-existing legislation, and in some places, repeal existing laws.
Previous acts, the 1931 Betting Act, last updated in 2015, as well as the 1956 Gaming and Lotteries Act, will be removed from law by the Gambling Regulation Bill.
For example, the national lottery is not covered by the new legislation, and will continue being looked after by the Regulator of the National Lottery, as outlined pre-existing legislation, the National Lottery Act of 2013.
The gambling industry has already pre-emptively moved to make sure it is compliant with incoming legislation.
For example, Irish betting websites and online casinos no longer allow punters to use credit cards to make deposits for bets.
One of the biggest changes to the Irish betting landscape will be the removal of free bets.
A powerful tool to entice new customers, free bets see gambling outlets offer punters the chance to place bets without waging their own money.
Alongside other special promotions, the current draft of the Gambling Regulation Bill would ban betting companies from encouraging new bettors with free bets, in a bid to combat Problem Gambling.
However, the gambling industry strongly resisted this provision, arguing that 500,000 Irish punters not at risk of Problem Gambling would lose out if free bets were outright banned.
As such, it remains to be seen if the final legislation will totally outlaw free bets and other special promotions, such as the return of losses in the form of free bets, or favourable odds that encourage gambling.
This part of the legislation also includes companies offering hospitality and VIP treatment, with all of the above considered inducements and will be deemed an offence.
You will likely see less gambling advertisement thanks to the new legislation – more specifically, you will see no betting adverts between 5:30am and 9:00pm on television.
That is due to a new watershed the legislation will implement, as the Gambling Authority of Ireland will be granted the prerogative to regulate gambling advertising.
It is not only on TV where gambling adverts will be less visible – in fact, on social media, there will be even tighter rules.
Betting advertisements will be banned from social media in Ireland by default, with punters only able to see gambling adverts if they specifically opt-in to them.
There is also targeted legislation to deal with advertising that is deemed to attract children – which will automatically be banned.
Similarly, advertising that promotes excessive gambling or tries to obfuscate the chances of winning and the monetary gains that come with it will also be outlawed.
Any advert that does not clearly identify itself as promoting betting will also fall afoul of the new rules.
But there is the possibility of further revisions to rules surrounding gambling advertising further down the line.
That is because the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland has the prerogative to dictate when, where, and which events gambling advertising can be shown.
Whilst the National Lottery will continue to be legislated under a different act, other forms of betting will also be reformed.
For context, the Gaming and Lotteries act of 1956 prohibited casinos from operating in Ireland.
However, business owners soon noted that there was an exploitable interpretation of the law, allowing them to set up members-only gambling clubs, which are not banned by Irish law.
Effectively casinos in all but name, only on a smaller scale, these members-only clubs include casino staples such as blackjack, poker, roulette, and slot machines.
In this moment, there are 14 examples of these clubs in Ireland, with membership fees enabling punters to gamble actual money on casino games, bypassing the law.
There have been previous attempts to remove this prohibition and allow up to 40 casinos in Ireland, namely with the Gambling Control Act of 2013.
However, the bill was never passed into law, meaning that there have been no changes to casinos in Ireland for over half a century.
But the new Gambling Regulation Bill will finally update the law and enable physical casinos to operate in Ireland, as well as making changes to poker and bingo.
It is a similar story for both poker and bingo, with that same loophole in the Gaming and Lotteries act of 1956 allowing the creation of private poker and bingo clubs.
Finally, gambling with the aim of fundraising for charities will also be checked over by the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland.
There will be a new type of licence that allows gambling activities for fundraising for charity and philanthropy. Previously such licences were limited to just lotteries.
In effect, this provision for a licence for charitable purposes will continue the spirt of the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956, enabling gaming to raise charitable monies.
The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland will deal with these applications, choosing whether to approve or reject licences.
Recently raffles where a new home can be won have become popular.
These raffles are also set to be licensed by the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland.
Specifically, a new type of licence will allow for one-off lotteries (one per year) for prizes worth up to €360,000 for both philanthropic and commercial causes.