Gambling Regulation Act 2024 Tightens Online Casino Rules in Ireland, But No Wagering Caps Yet

27 October 2026

The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland will soon have the power to restrict how online casinos and sportsbooks can advertise to Irish players.

The Gambling Regulation Act 2024 sets out advertising restrictions in sections 146 to 149, which the GRAI is expected to formally roll out in the coming year. Uncommenced provisions include a subscription-only allowance for gambling-related social media accounts, late-night and early-morning ad bans on broadcasting and on-demand platforms, and rules preventing foreign operators from penetrating the Irish market.

The GRAI went live in March 2025, but the advertising provisions have yet to be brought into force. Marianne Gallagher, the director of the authority, discussed this in a hearing on 13 October. "Work is currently ongoing with the Office of the Attorney General to commence the advertising provisions in the Act, and the expectation is that this will happen in a phased manner in the coming year," she said.

Advertising for remote betting on sports began in February 2026, with the GRAI taking over the former Betting Control Unit's responsibilities for remote betting licensing. But gambling advertising on social media accounts and late-night broadcasts remains restricted by guidelines from the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland. A formal commencement order is still needed.

Minister's statement on advertising rationale

In his October 2025 speech about the GRAI's strategy, Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan laid out the authority's rationale:

"We must regulate advertising in a way that protects young people from exposure, vulnerable people from exploitation, and encourage only responsible providers. That's why the legislation allows for restrictions on the times of day advertising is broadcast, where it is broadcast, its duration and the events with which it is associated. All that serves to build a more responsible gambling sector."

But will Ireland go as far as capping wagering requirements for online casino bonuses, as some other regulators have done? Not yet, according to government statements so far.

A follow-up O'Callaghan speech did mention bonus terms, but only vaguely: "In an already fast-growing sector, the way that advertising and bonuses are used is significant. They attract new participants, but some are also used in ways that prompt insidious behavioural changes. Let me be clear, we want the GRAI to regulate advertising in a fair, though more restrictive manner that limits exposure for vulnerable people, instead of bringing whole new cohorts into gambling for the wrong reasons."

That same area of the Act also bans credit from operators, prohibits VIP schemes and other ways for companies to get customers to spend more, and bans deposit multipliers.

Other safeguards from the upcoming gambling framework include having separate legal structures for different gambling products, much as casinos do with poker and slots, and extending protections from the Global Self-Exclusion Scheme to the whole of the games and betting ecosystem. Another one is the ability for players to limit their own spending and to have anti-gambling messages appear in the apps.

Separately in other areas, the government provides for a limit of €10,000 on prize pools for Irish "soap cards", the mini-lotteries you see online and outside pubs. That's substantially less than the £1-million-plus pools in the UK bingo market, but follows Ireland's principle of protecting small players from the big risks that have appeared in the last 10 years.

These consumer protections have been broadly welcomed. But what remains unclear is whether and when the regulator will apply that same approach to bonus terms. Today's betting-related ad provisions leave that question unanswered.