Last updated: December 13, 2024
Ireland is implementing its Gambling Regulation Bill 2022 to establish guidelines for the gambling sector and create the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland. The bill contains provisions on licensing, consumer protection, and tackling problem gambling. Ireland has allocated €9.1 million for the 2025 budget for the new regulating authority.
Ireland has enacted innovative legislation to revolutionize the country’s gambling market. On Wednesday, October 16th, the Gambling Regulation Bill passed both houses of the Oireachtas and could be considered a comprehensive change to the current system.
Minister of State in the Department of Justice and Law Reform, James Browne TD, stated his satisfaction with the bill’s passage. New legislation opens the possibility of the creation of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (Údarás Rialála Cearrbhachais na hÉireann) as the gambling sector’s lead authority in Ireland.
It introduces a new effective bill to tackle the issues related to online and land-based gambling, giving a better sense of protecting the consumers. It also turns attention to a new creation known as the Social Impact Fund, intended to address problem gambling by raising awareness and support for affected individuals.
It signals a new chapter in the Irish legislation regarding gambling, mainly because the country has been lagging in overhauling the industry’s governance.
Lawmakers have implemented a new bill that establishes a more apparent licensing scheme for operators to reduce black market shares and create better regulation in the gambling field. The bill presents changes that have occurred in the field of gambling, such as the increase in individuals’ online activities and increased use of digital media advertising.
Browne, who played a major role in the passage of the bill, said that it permits persons the freedom to gamble but enshrines certain measures to prevent probity, particularly among youths.
”This new framework is more simplified and modernized to contain the growing problems that digital gambling has brought in the last few years,” Browne stated. He explained that the industry and independent anti-gambling harm consultants and advocates were consulted when the bill was created. Its goal, he observed, was to make sure that it would result in the intended protective consequences on the consumers, especially against the effects of gambling disorders.
In the process of reshaping the gambling sector, Anne Marie Caulfield was named the first CEO Designate of the Gambling Regulatory Authority.
Caulfield said Ireland’s new gambling regulator will focus on licensing as it begins enforcing the new legislation. Its priority will be to check licensees’ compliance with the bill and set up measures for dealing with gambling problems.
Caulfield also noted that the regulator would engage stakeholders in the implementation process to avoid any hitches in implementing this new system. For the next year, 2025, the regulatory body will receive a budget allocation of €9.1 million to discharge its functions appropriately. With this framework in place, Northern Ireland will be the only region outside of Britain and Ireland that does not have regulated gambling.
