The market
Ireland has just replaced a century of fragmented gambling law with a single modern regulator, the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI), created under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024. The regime went live in stages through 2026. Since 1 July 2026, remote betting and remote betting intermediary operators targeting Irish customers must hold a GRAI licence. In-person betting licensing follows from 1 December 2026.
The commercial base is a well-developed sports betting culture, historically served by UK and international bookmakers under the old Betting Acts and a turnover-based betting duty. Online casino, slots and other remote gaming products are not yet licensable: GRAI has said remote gaming licences will be phased across 2027 and 2028, with B2B not envisaged among the first phases. Operators should treat those years as the stated expectation rather than a fixed date and check GRAI for updates.
For now the licensable online market is betting only. Casino-led operators cannot enter legally through a GRAI licence yet.
Regulation and licensing
GRAI licenses under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024. Application fees are a one-off, non-refundable charge tiered by turnover, where turnover means gross win on the Irish-facing business, set by the Gambling (Licence Application Fees) Regulations 2026 (S.I. No. 37/2026). A new entrant with no existing Irish gross win pays the EUR 20,000 bracket for remote betting, rising in bands to EUR 400,000 for the largest. Licences last three years. Separate annual charges to fund GRAI and the Social Impact Fund levy are to be set by later regulation, so budget for them as known unknowns.
Betting duty stays as it was under the old Betting Acts: 2% of turnover, with a 25% rate charged on the commission earned by a betting exchange. Standard corporation tax is 12.5%. A turnover duty is unforgiving on a low-margin book, so model it against your own hold rather than against a headline percentage.
The Act also moves the payment rails into the enforcement perimeter. Courts can disrupt financial flows to prohibited operators, including orders preventing banks from receiving or making payments connected with illegal gambling. Section 165 prohibits gambling payments by credit card, including electronic or digital payment funded from a credit card, in force from 5 February 2026.
Marketing and player rules
The 2024 Act imposes strict advertising controls, including watershed restrictions and limits on inducements and certain promotions, with GRAI setting detailed marketing conditions through licence terms. The credit card ban is a licensee obligation. The Act provides for a national self-exclusion register and a Social Impact Fund financed by operator contributions. Affiliate and inducement exposure is significant given the tight content rules, so operators should assume conservative marketing until GRAI guidance is settled.
What this means for your plan
I read Ireland as a betting-first market you can enter now and a casino market you have to wait for. If you run a sportsbook, apply, model the 2% turnover duty against your margin and get in early while the register is young. If you are casino-led, there is nothing to license yet, so I would prepare the corporate and compliance build now and hold for the 2027-28 remote gaming phase, watching GRAI for a firm date. First move: decide which side of the betting or gaming line your product sits on, because it decides whether you act in 2026 or wait.
Sources
- Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, Gambling Regulation Act 2024 and licensing phases, checked 4 September 2026
- Gambling (Licence Application Fees) Regulations 2026 (S.I. No. 37/2026), via mygaminglicense summary, checked 4 September 2026
- Fintelegram, Ireland gambling regime goes live, checked 4 September 2026