Dublin 10th April 2025.The Gambling Regulator will be moving home to our new premises from Monday 14th April. As well as moving from our current Department of Justice premises we will be migrating off the Justice IT network. This will involve a change over on Friday 10th April which means for some of the day members of staff will have no access to emails and therefore could be delayed in replying. This also means all GRAI contacts with @justice email addresses will no longer be accessible and our new @grai emails will be in place from Monday 14th April. We would encourage our many stakeholders to delate any GRAI contact with @justice addresses in their mailbox and replace with our new addresses. This also means our general contact email grai@justice.ie will no longer be in operation and our new email address for general contacts from Monday 14th April will be: communications@grai.ie This is another major milestone in the journey of the Regulator an we would like to extend our thanks to our parent department - the Department of Justice - for their support over the past number of months before establishment. Our new address is: Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, Ballaugh House, 73 Mount St Lower, Dublin 2, D02 PX37

Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland and Pobal to commence a Call for Input for the new Social Impact FundThe Social Impact Fund, to be financed by a levy on licensed operators, will support a range of services to prevent and address gambling harms14 April 2025 – The Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRAI) and Pobal have today commenced an initial call for input on the development of a Social Impact Fund, to provide funding and supports for organisations helping to tackle gambling harm.  Details on how to take part are available on www.grai.ieThe development and rollout of a Social Impact Fund is a key priority of the recently established GRAI.  The new fund will invest in educational and awareness initiatives, research and training. Public and private bodies which support people with lived experience of gambling harm and/or gambling addiction through treatment will also benefit from the Social Impact Fund.The Regulator will apply an annual Social Impact Fund contribution on gambling providers based on the turnover of each business.  The amount of this contribution will be determined by the Minister for Justice, but it will be based around a percentage of licensees’ turnover.The assessment of need, undertaken by Pobal on behalf of the GRAI, is made up of four questionnaires designed to reach different representative groups and individuals in society:People with lived experience of gambling harm/addictionPeople who have been affected by the gambling behaviour of others, including family or friendsAddiction services that provide treatment or support to those affected by gambling harmNGOs, Charities, and Sporting Organisations, working with members of society who may be vulnerable to gambling harms, including children and young peopleThe questionnaires are designed to gain insight into the experiences of each group in terms of gambling harm and its effects on society, as well as developing a better understanding of what supports are lacking and where improvements can be made. Participants can also opt to continue their involvement in the consultation process, allowing for further information to be collected and a fuller picture to be made of the most impactful interventions to prevent gambling harm in Irish society.Feedback from the initial Call for Input will be collated to help identify objectives for a Funding Strategy. It is intended to then conduct a wider public consultation based on the initial findings and draft strategic objectives  Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan, T.D. said ‘I welcome the launch today of the Call for Input on the development of the Social Impact Fund. As one of the first initiatives of the newly established Gambling Regulatory Authority, this is a key step towards developing proposals for the Social Impact Fund, which will invest in initiatives to mitigate against harmful gambling behavior and addiction.I would strongly encourage all interested groups and individuals to participate in this initiative which will also feed into in the development of a broader public consultation on this important issue.Anne Marie Caulfield, Chief Executive Officer of the GRAI, said: “This Call for Input aims to develop an initial assessment of need, and we will be consulting widely with stakeholders. It will inform our funding strategy and ensure that we allocate funding in the most useful and impactful way.“Pobal has an excellent track record in managing and administering government and EU funding aimed at social inclusion and community development. This experience will be very beneficial to us as we undertake this important work.” Paul Quinn, Chairperson of the GRAI, said: “The commencement of this Call for Input is most welcome and reflects the evidence-based approach we take to all our work.   “The legislation that underpins the GRAI is, first and foremost, a public health measure, and the Social Impact Fund will allow organisations and bodies to provide essential support, education, training, and other measures that support the GRAI’s public protection mandate.”Anna Shakespeare, CEO of Pobal said: “Pobal is delighted to work with the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland on the development of the Social Impact Fund. This open consultation process presents an excellent opportunity for those affected by gambling harm in Ireland, and those who work to support them, to help shape the new fund and the services it will support.We strongly encourage people to engage with this process over the coming weeks and look forward to gaining valuable insights to support us in designing the Social Impact Fund.” Further information on the Social Impact Fund can be found at https://grai.ie/social-impact-fund.

The GRAI would like to hear the views of stakeholders, including operators and the public on the proposed regulations concerning licensing which will be commenced on a phased basis. Consultation Published: Monday 7th April 2025Submission period closes: 5pm on 5th May 2025About usWe are the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland. We were established on 5 March 2025. Our role is to regulate gambling activities in Ireland.The law that established us, and sets out what we do, is the Gambling Regulation Act 2024. Those who wish to provide gambling activities in Ireland will need a licence from us. We can issue different types of gambling licences for in person or remote gambling activities, including the following:1.    Business to consumer gambling licencesThis type of licence applies to those providing betting, gaming or lottery activities to consumers. 2.    Business to business gambling licencesThis type of licence applies to those selling or supplying a gambling product or gambling related service.3.    Licences for a charitable and philanthropic purposeThis type of licence applies to those who wish to provide betting, gaming, or lottery activities for charitable and philanthropic purposes.We intend to start our licensing function in a phased way, with different licence category types opening at different times.Our current plan is to first open for Business to Consumer betting licence applications in December 2025 (both in person and remote). This will be followed by opening for gaming licence applications (remote only) towards the end of the first quarter of 2026. However, the order and timing of commencement maybe subject to change. The license application process will take a number of months.  Once an application is submitted it will be reviewed to ensure all necessary information and documentation has been submitted.  We will then undertake various checks on the applicant and on the Information and documentation submitted to verify the information and to ensure it is given due consideration when making the decision to grant or refuse the license application. What is the purpose of this consultation?We have the power to make regulations.  Regulations are laws created by Ministers or public bodies under powers given to them by Acts of the Oireachtas. The first set of regulations we plan to make will:  a.    Set the application fee for applications for betting (in person and remote) and gaming (in person and remote) licences. This is provided for in section 38 of the 2024 Act.The second set of regulations we plan to make will:b.    Set the duration for which a gambling licence remains in force. This is provided for under section 108 of the 2024 Act.AND c.     Set out some additional conditions which will apply to gambling licences. This is provided for under section 129 of the 2024 Act.We would like to hear the views of stakeholders, including operators and the public on the proposed regulations. For more information including how to submit a response please visit: Live Consultation page.