The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) has released its strategic framework for 2025-2027, outlining five core objectives as it prepares to assume full regulatory oversight of Ireland’s gambling sector in early 2026. The regulator aims to achieve complete financial self-sufficiency through licensing fees and regulatory charges by 2027.
The strategy encompasses licensing, compliance and monitoring, enforcement, digital infrastructure, and consumer protection initiatives as GRAI transitions into its expanded regulatory mandate.
“The Statement of Strategy outlines the vision, mission, and values of the Regulator through to 2027,” said Anne Marie Caulfield, CEO of GRAI. “Each goal within the strategy outlines a thorough approach to our main functions, from building a robust licensing regime that will ensure operators are consistently adhering to standards to supporting research and educational initiatives that enhance our capabilities as a regulator.”
Regulatory Framework Takes Shape
GRAI’s establishment represents a major provision of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024, which received approval from the Oireachtas legislature and President Michael D. Higgins last year. The regulator began operating on a statutory basis in March 2025, modernising gambling laws that had remained largely unchanged since 1931 and 1956.
The regulator started assuming regulatory duties in March and will take complete control of market oversight in early 2026. GRAI’s licensing regime will cover retail and online betting, gaming, and lotteries across both B2C and B2B operations.
Annual inspections and compliance monitoring are scheduled to commence in July 2026. The regulator plans to establish its enforcement framework, including an investigations unit and crime and criminal enforcement unit, by Q3 2026. Penalties and fines from licensing violations will contribute to GRAI’s self-sustainability objectives alongside licensing fees.
Digital Infrastructure and Consumer Protections
GRAI’s strategic priorities reflect Ireland’s increasingly digital gambling landscape, which motivated the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael coalition government to introduce the Gambling Regulation Bill in 2022. The Irish online gambling market reached approximately €1.25 billion in 2024.
The regulator is developing a National Gambling Exclusion Register covering both online and offline betting, as mandated by the Gambling Regulation Act. A separate dedicated IT strategy is also in development.
The Social Impact Fund (SMF), another flagship measure of the Gambling Regulation Act, will be funded through an annual operator levy. Resources from the fund will support gambling addiction treatment, public education initiatives, and problem gambling awareness programs.
With Irish gambling revenue projected to exceed €2 billion in 2025, GRAI faces substantial oversight responsibilities as the industry’s societal impact continues drawing scrutiny from public, political, and academic stakeholders.
The sector has experienced pressure regarding marketing and advertising practices, with notable industry figures including Paddy Power’s original founders advocating for significant advertising reductions. The government is now reviewing potential new gambling taxes as part of a broader hospitality sector tax assessment and examining expanded pool betting duty applications.
As a newly established independent regulator, we have been entrusted with a vital public mandate: to ensure that gambling in Ireland is conducted in a safe, fair, and transparent manner, with the interests of individuals, families, and the wider community at its heart. Our work is grounded in the principles of prevention, protection, and evidence-based regulation. This Statement of Strategy sets out the roadmap to delivering a modern, fair, and trusted regulatory regime that reflects the constantly evolving nature of gambling and the expectations of the Irish public. Establishing the new licensing arrangements, compliance management, and enforcement functions during the term of this Strategy is central to reducing the likelihood of gambling harms and will underpin a well-regulated gambling market in Ireland.
Paul Quinn, Chairperson of GRAI
Source: SBC News
