Ireland Confirms Talks On Gambling Ad Watershed
The Irish government has confirmed that talks on bringing gambling advertising restrictions into force are under way, but it has not given a date for when they will start. The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration said work is continuing with the Office of the Attorney General on the advertising provisions of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024, and that no timeline can be offered yet.
The update came in a statement carried by Racing Post on November 6. A department spokesperson said the minister, Jim O'Callaghan, supports commencing the rules as soon as is legally and operationally feasible. For operators and affiliates working in Ireland's betting market, that is a clear signal of intent without a firm start date.
What The Act Would Change
The same position was set out in written answers to Dail questions. On October 13, the minister told Deputy Ken O'Flynn that the advertising provisions primarily apply to operators licensed by the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) and have not been commenced, according to the Oireachtas record. Work with the Attorney General's office on those provisions was described as ongoing.
The answer also summarised what the measures would do. Section 144 lets the GRAI set the times, places and events where gambling advertising can be broadcast, displayed or published, along with its frequency and duration.
Section 146 limits advertising on social media and video-sharing platforms to people who have subscribed to a licensee's account. Section 149 introduces a watershed that bars gambling advertising between 5:30am and 9pm on audio-visual on-demand services, on-demand sound services and broadcasters.
A further written answer on November 3, to Deputy Colm Burke, covered the marketing, advertising and sponsorship sections of the Act, which also confer significant regulation-making powers on the GRAI. The minister said the department is working with the Attorney General's office to commence them and that officials are progressing the rest of the Act as quickly as possible.
Licensing Comes First
The department has repeatedly tied the protections in the Act to operators holding a GRAI licence. Existing remote betting licensees were able to apply for a GRAI licence from July 1, 2026, while in-person betting licensees whose Revenue-issued licences expire on November 30 can apply for a licence from December 1. Licensing for gaming, both remote and in-person, is expected to begin in early 2027, with lotteries to follow in due course.
The commencement order signed on February 3 already gave the GRAI investigative powers, and allows administrative fines of up to €20 million or 10% of a licensee's turnover, whichever is greater. It also switched on rules on credit cards, player-set monetary limits and caps on lodgements. Advertising, sponsorship and inducement rules sit in the part of the Act still waiting to be commenced.
What Operators Should Watch
With no date set, the advertising rules cannot yet be enforced, and the department has pointed people to the GRAI's protection tools in the meantime. The regulator has been active elsewhere, and recent GRAI action against unlicensed operators shows it is already using its enforcement powers.
The next signals to watch are a commencement order from the minister for the advertising sections and any GRAI regulations setting out how the watershed and platform limits would be applied in practice. Until then, the confirmation of active talks is the clearest sign yet that the advertising rules remain on the agenda, even without a start date.
