Ireland Gambling Regulator Warns of Funding Shortfall

Ireland's Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRAI) has warned it will have to stall key reforms, including regulating “totally unlicensed” remote gaming and overseas-based black market gambling, due to a funding shortfall, according to a report by The Irish Times.

In a letter to Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan earlier this year, the newly established regulator said it had been given just half the budget allocation it sought for 2026, receiving €13.35 million of the €26 million it had asked for.

The letter said: "[The shortfall will have] a significant impact on the pace at which [it] will regulate gambling in Ireland, thereby lessening the impact that it will have in the short term."

The authority said it would not be possible to progress plans to regulate an industry it estimates has an annual turnover of between €12 billion and €14 billion. 

Licensing of remote gaming, which covers online slots and casinos, has been pushed back to next year, with registration systems for operators not expected to go live until early 2027.

The GRAI, which aims to be self-financing within three years, also warned it will have “very limited capacity and capability” for compliance and enforcement work, forcing it to de-prioritise measures to tackle extraterritorial black market monitoring and enforcement. 

In March, the authority said it had “regrettably reached the decision” that a number of key objectives would need to be deferred or reduced in scope because of the shortfall in resources allocated to it.

Casino Games Hub

• Blackjack
• Roulette
• Craps

The GRAI was formally established on March 5, 2025 under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024, replacing Ireland's decades-old gambling laws with a single licensing regime covering betting, gaming and most lotteries. 

Anne Marie Caulfield has led the authority as chief executive since its establishment. Its 2026 budget of roughly €13.32 million represents a 92% increase on 2025's allocation, even though it fell short of the €26 million requested. 

The authority began accepting applications for remote and in-person betting licences on July 1, 2026, with existing Revenue Commissioners-issued licences due to expire on December 1, 2026. Breaches of the Act can carry fines of up to €20 million or 10% of turnover, and prison terms of up to eight years.