Certain types of lotteries will be exempt from requiring a GRAI licence
For charitable or philanthropic purpose
a person may provide a lottery for a charitable or philanthropic purpose without a gambling licence where all of the following apply:
the person derives no personal profit from the lottery,
the total value of the winnings do not exceed €2,000,
the minimum payment to participate in the lottery is not more than €5,
the maximum number of lottery tickets available for sale is not more than 1,500
the person has not provided a lottery in accordance with these requirements within a period of 3 months preceding the first day on which it is intended to invite persons to participate in the lottery concerned
Lotteries held in conjunction with selling or marketing of products
A person may provide a lottery without a lottery licence where all of the following apply:
the lottery is provided in conjunction with the selling or marketing of a product or service,
no payment is required to participate in the lottery other than, if required, the purchase of the product or service concerned,
the total value of the winnings do not exceed €5,000,
there is no additional payment required to obtain the winnings,
the winnings are paid out within a period of 6 months from the first date on which persons are invited to participate in the lottery concerned.
Other types of lotteries that do not require a licence from the GRAI:
an additional service that may be provided by a credit union in accordance with section 48 of the Credit Union Act 1997,
non-interest-bearing securities (known as prize bonds) created and issued by the Minister for Finance under section 22 of the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1956 or by the National Treasury Management Agency while the functions of that Minister under that section stand delegated to that Agency under section 5 of the National Treasury Management Agency Act 1990,
a financial instrument that is analogous to non-interest-bearing securities referred to in paragraph (ii) created and issued by a Member State other than the State, a regional authority in that other Member State or local authority of that other Member State in relation to which chance may be used to select particular securities for prizes,
a lottery operated by an operator of the National Lottery, or
a lottery operated by a political party under Part 9 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022.
