The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) was officially established on 5 March. The initial focus of the GRAI was to build out its staff, and it has made good progress, with its CEO and management team, including its director of licensing, director of enforcement and anti-money laundering and director of compliance and dispute resolution, all in situ.
The GRAI has gone on to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with both the UK Gambling Commission and the Belgian Gaming Commission establishing principles of cooperation and collaboration between the authorities, including information sharing. The GRAI has stated that it intends to sign MoUs with other regulators across the EU in the coming months.
Undoubtedly, the main focus of the GRAI is now the establishment and implementation of the licensing procedures and processes. Currently, remote operators are in the midst of their licence renewals which remain under the remit of the Irish Revenue Commissioners in 2025. These licences will remain valid for a period of one year, with the intention being that next year’s renewals will be subject to the new licensing regime and overseen by the GRAI.
The new licensing regime will be introduced on a phased basis, with an initial focus on B2C betting licences and remote gaming licences, and the GRAI is expected to commence the application process for these licences in December 2025 and Q1 2026, respectively. One important point worth noting is that a combination of in-person and remote B2C licences will not be available initially, however, the GRAI has confirmed that a combination of in-person and remote licences will be available in the future.
The form and content of the new licence applications is yet to be determined, but it will be important that this is made available to operators as soon as possible so they can start to prepare for when the licensing window opens. The GRAI has recently published the results of a public consultation run earlier this year which sought stakeholder feedback on three main issues: application fees, licence durations and additional licence conditions.
Several submissions raised concerns in relation to the proposed baseline €20,000 remote licence fee, noting that this is a major increase on the current remote licence fee. Respondents further noted that this increased fee would have a disproportionate effect on smaller operators.
Respondents also raised concerns over the use of turnover (as defined in the proposed regulations) to calculate the overall cost of each licence. Some submissions observed that the use of turnover to calculate the total cost of a licence is unfair, as it does not account for the different margins earned through different operator and game types. It was proposed that the GRAI should instead employ the gross gaming revenue (GGR) formula for turnover when calculating the licence cost. Operators pointed out that the definition of ‘turnover’ does not specify it is Irish turnover that is taken into account when determining the licence fee, however, it is expected that this will be clarified when further information on the application process is released.
The majority of submissions which commented on the proposed three-year licence duration asked the GRAI to consider increasing the licence the term to five years or more. The GRAI has committed to keeping the licence term under review while the licensing regulatory framework is established but is satisfied that a three-year duration is an appropriate starting point.
Submissions which commented on the proposed additional licence considerations were consistently positive about the introduction of special conditions which will allow for greater certainty for the industry and help to safeguard consumers in Ireland. However, some submissions did raise concerns about the potential cost of compliance.
One other area operators will be concerned about is the lack of information on the relevant technical standards that will apply to gambling products. The GRAI has confirmed that at the time the initial licences are issued under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024, the relevant standards will not have been set. However, the initial licences, once issued, will include a licensing condition that requires licensees to comply with technical standards once they are issued by the GRAI. The lack of clarity around the technical standards that will apply to products is clearly something that will be an issue to operators, so it will be important they are consulted and permitted sufficient time to ensure they can comply with same prior to introducing any technical standards.
The GRAI has made good progress in a short space of time since its establishment. In terms of next steps, both operators and advisers will be anxious to see what the new application process will look like, given it will be manifestly different from the current status quo. One expects these details to be be published soon, but it is vital that operators have sufficient time to be able to prepare and assess the requirements of the new regulatory regime.
Alan Heuston is a partner in McCann FitzGerald, heading up its betting and gaming practice. He is widely regarded as one of the leading advisers in the area of gambling.
Prior to joining McCann FitzGerald, Heuston worked at Flutter Entertainment, where he was head of tax for its leading brand Paddy Power.
Heuston has significant first-hand experience of the regulatory and taxation aspects of the betting and gaming sector, advising many of the leading operators on Irish gambling laws and regulations.
He has also advised the Irish Department of Justice on aspects relating to the establishment of a gambling regulatory authority in Ireland.
The post On the bridle: exploring the steps made by the Irish gambling regulator first appeared on EGR Intel.
McCann FitzGerald’s Alan Heuston says the newly established GRAI has made good progress so far, with a new regime for the market expected to be in place next year
The post On the bridle: exploring the steps made by the Irish gambling regulator first appeared on EGR Intel.