How Online Betting Is Regulated In Ireland

Tue, Aug 6, 2024
by CapperTek

In Ireland, scrambling and betting has always been a national pastime. While in person betting is still a massive industry, especially in horse racing, online betting has become one of the most popular ways to place bets in the country.  As the practice of online betting is still relatively new, how is it that the Irish government regulate the industry?

The History Of Irish Gambling

Many would be surprised to learn that gambling in Ireland was illegal for a very long time. Despite this, gambling was still a regular practice, especially in horse racing which has a long and storied history in the country. In fact, gambling only became legal six years after the country got its independence, and enacted the Gambling And Lotteries Act in 1956.

This act did in part prohibit casinos from being made and run in Ireland. Even so, many companies sidesteps this issue by creating sign in private members clubs, where members could play a number of casino games.

Bookmakers soon found their way into the country, just as they did near UK, making their way to the High Street. That led to the legitimization of sports betting, and the creation of a new betting community.

When it comes to betting, there was legislation brought in beforehand that regulated it. The Betting Act of 1931 was the act that regulated all sports betting before 2015, and in 2015 it was amended to bring in certain restrictions. These were aims to protect the Irish economy, by requiring offshore betting companies to have a remote bookmaker or betting intermediary license.

The Beginning Of Online Gambling Legislation

Despite being so late with legislating gambling at all in Ireland, the country was actually one of the first countries to legalize online gambling in 2003. The government then started issuing licenses to betting companies within Ireland, and many started popping up online from 2004 onwards. Nowadays some of the most popular bookmakers in Ireland take in billions of Euro each year.

Because online gambling was so new, there were lots of gaps in the original legislation that needed to be filled. This was especially true when it came to taxation of online gambling, so and amendment was made in 2012.  This required all these bookmakers to obtain licenses from the government, and be tax accordingly.

The Current Laws On Betting In Ireland

What does the law say about betting in Ireland right now? There have been changes in the last decade or so that have shaken up how the industry works. In 2013, the government introduced the Gambling Control Bill. This was brought into update the 1956 legislature, and aimed to bring everything together under one bill. It was to finally legalize casino gambling in the country.

However, despite this change up there really hasn’t been much difference in the way online gambling has been legislated, as opposed to physical betting.

Possible Changes To Irish Betting Legislation

Since the boom of online betting providers since 2020, it has been clear to the Irish government that changes to the current legislation needs to be made. As such, changes to legislation have been proposed and are currently being considered to for placing into law.

These changes are aimed at protecting those who could be harmed by gambling, such as those were problem gambling issues and children. With online betting being so prevalent in this day and age, you can see why changes are being proposed to protect them.

There are many changes being proposed right now, including the restriction of bonuses that bookmakers can offer their members. So that includes things like restricting welcome offers, VIP schemes, free bet offers, and more besides.

You will also see that there are proposals to completely ban the advertising of gambling services on social media. For those who want to see these advertisements they would have to opt in.

The Impact On Future Online Betting

While these changes are not law yet, there have been serious discussions on how it can impact the industry and the Irish economy as a whole. Those who proposed the changes say that they are updating laws that are not currently capable of properly legislating online gambling. If they come into law, those who need protecting will be safe, while those who enjoy online gambling can still get what they want from their preferred online bookmaker.

As you can imagine, there is concern from the online betting industry about how they would be able to bring in new members if they aren’t usable to advertise or offer special deals to them.  If if they are not able to bring in new members, this could have a negative impact on the Irish economy with so many Irish bookmakers online right now.

Right now, this is all hypothetical and we are not sure whether these changes will come into law. Currently, Ireland does have legislations specifically for online betting services, but it is up for debate if it is robust enough.