Online casino law in Ireland, step by step

Ireland spent years with gambling laws written for betting shops and seaside arcades. The Gambling Regulation Act 2024 replaces them with one modern framework and a single regulator. The catch is timing: the Act is being switched on in stages, and online casino is one of the last pieces. This guide sets out where things stand, as of November 2026.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. The Act is on the Irish Statute Book, the regulator is the GRAI, and Revenue is the source on tax.

The Act and the regulator

The Gambling Regulation Act 2024 (No. 35 of 2024) covers betting, gaming and lotteries, in person and online. It set up the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, which was established on 5 March 2025.

Before the GRAI, Revenue licensed remote bookmakers under the older Betting Acts. Those Revenue licences expired on 30 June 2026, when the GRAI’s own regime for betting took over.

Which parts are in force

A commencement order, S.I. No. 31 of 2026, brought most of the Act into force on 5 February 2026. It also left important sections out. The key points for online casino players:

Area	Status as of November 2026
Offence of providing betting without a GRAI licence	In force
Offence of providing a game without a gaming licence (s.67(2))	Not in force
Inducements to gamble (s.157)	Not in force
Sponsorship (s.159)	Not in force
Most of the advertising chapter, including the broadcast watershed	Not in force
Player-set deposit limits (s.164)	In force for licensees
Ban on credit cards and credit (s.165)	In force for licensees
Complaints, enforcement and appeals	In force

The second row matters most here. Gaming licences don’t exist yet, so the offence of offering games without one has not been switched on either.

The licensing timeline

Date	Step
5 March 2025	GRAI established
5 February 2026	GRAI may accept betting licence applications
1 July 2026	GRAI remote betting licences start
1 December 2026	In-person betting licences due to start
2027	Gaming licences, remote and in-person, expected to open

The Minister has said gaming licences are expected early in 2027, while the GRAI has said licences for gaming and other categories will open through 2027 and 2028. Treat dates beyond the betting licences as plans, not fixed points.

What this means for online casinos today

Online casinos open to Irish players today are all licensed abroad, by bodies such as the Malta Gaming Authority, Gibraltar, the UK Gambling Commission, the Curaçao Gaming Authority, Anjouan and others. Many big bookmakers hold GRAI betting licences for their sportsbooks, but their casino products run on those foreign licences.

Two consequences follow:

• Irish protections reach licensees, not everyone. The credit card ban and the deposit-limit rules bind GRAI licensees. A casino licensed only abroad follows its own regulator’s rules, so check what it allows.
• The planned exclusion register isn’t running yet. The Act provides for a National Gambling Exclusion Register, but as of November 2026 it is not operational.

Bonuses and the inducement rule

Section 157 is the part that will shape bonuses. It is law but not yet in force. When it starts:

• A licensee may not offer an inducement to a specific person or group of persons.
• Offers to the general public stay possible, subject to regulations the Minister may make after consulting the GRAI.
• Those regulations can set conditions, and can ban whole classes of inducement.

No such regulations have been published as of November 2026. On LocoBonus, Irish offers are shown as general offers open to new players, and we don’t build the Irish pages around targeted or VIP deals.

Tax on gambling winnings in Ireland

The good news for players is short. Under section 613 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, winnings from betting, including pool betting, lotteries, sweepstakes and games with prizes, are not chargeable gains. Revenue’s page on what is exempt from CGT lists betting and lottery wins.

Revenue’s capital acquisitions tax guidance also treats such winnings as exempt from gift and inheritance tax.

What stays taxable:

• Income from the money. Interest or investment returns on a win are taxed under the normal rules.
• Unusual situations. The Revenue pages we read deal with capital gains and gift tax. If gambling is part of how you earn a living, ask Revenue directly.

A short checklist for Irish players

1. Check the licence. Look for the regulator in the footer and confirm it on that regulator’s register.
2. Know who handles complaints. For a foreign-licensed casino it is the foreign regulator.
3. Set your own limits. Use the casino’s deposit limit tools even where Irish rules don’t require them.
4. Know where help is. GamblingCare.ie runs a free national helpline on 1800 936 725.

When you’re ready to compare offers, the Irish bonus list shows each offer’s wagering and caps, and the Ireland home page collects the rest. Our guide to casino licences explains how the foreign regulators compare.