Gambling Regulation Act 2024

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Year: 2024
• Citation: IR No. 35/2024

Gambling Regulation Act 2024

2024 35

An Act to provide for the establishment of a body to be known as Údarás Rialála Cearrbhachais na hÉireann or, in the English language, the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland for the purposes of licensing and regulating betting, gaming, certain lotteries and the sale or supply of products or services related to gambling; to provide for the funding of that Authority by means of imposition of a charge on licensees; to provide for the establishment and maintenance of a register of persons who hold gambling licences in the State and a National Gambling Exclusion Register; to provide for the establishment of a Social Impact Fund to, among other matters, finance research into, raise awareness of, and eliminate or reduce, compulsive and excessive gambling; to provide for contributions to the Fund by certain licensees; to provide for the imposition of obligations on those licensees including obligations relating to advertising, inducements and sponsorship for the purposes of safeguarding persons participating in gambling; to provide for the prohibition of children participating in gambling or being employed in the gambling industry; to provide, for the purposes of ensuring conditions attached to gambling licences and obligations imposed on licensees are complied with, for compliance and enforcement measures; and for those and other purposes to repeal the Gaming Act 1744, the Betting Act 1853, the Totalisator Act 1929, the Betting Act 1931, the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956 and certain provisions of certain other Acts, to revoke certain statutory instruments and to provide for the consequential amendment of certain other enactments; to provide for transitional arrangements; to amend the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 for the purpose of giving further effect to Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 20151 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing; and to provide for related matters.

[23 October 2024]

Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows: 1 OJ No. L141, 5.6.2015, p. 73

1 Short title and commencement

(1) This Act may be cited as the Gambling Regulation Act 2024.

(2) This Act, other than section 227, shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may by order or orders appoint either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions, and for the repeal or revocation of different provisions of the enactments effected by section 9.

2 Interpretation

(1) In this Act—

“account-holder” means a person who holds a gambling account;

“Act of 1929” means the Totalisator Act 1929;

“Act of 1931” means the Betting Act 1931;

“Act of 1956” means the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956;

“Act of 1958” means the Greyhound Industry Act 1958;

“Act of 1975” means the Finance Act 1975;

“Act of 1994” means the Irish Horseracing Industry Act 1994;

“Act of 1997” means the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997;

“Act of 2001” means the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act 2001;

“Act of 2002” means the Finance Act 2002;

“Act of 2010” means the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010;

“Act of 2013” means the National Lottery Act 2013;

“Act of 2014” means the Companies Act 2014;

“Act of 2018” means the Data Protection Act 2018;

“adjudication officer” has, subject to section 199(2), the meaning assigned to it by section 216(1) and a reference to an adjudication officer, other than in section 62(3), includes a reference to the chief adjudication officer;

“advertise” includes advertise by means of an image, sound or text;

“Appeals Board” means a Board appointed under section 225(4)(b) to hear an appeal;

“appeals officer” means a member of the Appeals Panel appointed under section 225(4)(a) to determine an appeal under Part 9;

“Appeals Panel” shall be construed in accordance with section 224;

“authorised officer” means an authorised officer appointed under section 184;

“Authority” has the meaning assigned to it by section 13(1);

“beneficial owner” has the meaning given to it by Article 3 of Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 ²1 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, amending Regulation (EU) No. 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Directive 2006/70/EC;

“bet” means a payment made to participate in betting;

“betting” includes pool betting;

“betting licence” means—

(a)

an in-person betting licence,

(b)

a remote betting licence,

(c)

an in-person and remote betting licence, or

(d)

a remote betting intermediary licence;

“Business to Business gambling licence” has the meaning assigned to it by section 89;

“Business to Consumer gambling licence” means a betting licence, a gaming licence or a lottery licence;

“charitable or philanthropic purpose” shall be construed in accordance with section 88(4);

“chief adjudication officer” means the adjudication officer appointed by the Minister under section 216(3) to be the chief adjudication officer;

“chief executive” has the meaning assigned to it by section 21(1);

“child” means a person under the age of 18 years;

“committee” means a committee of the Authority established under section 20;

“Data Protection Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation);

“directed investigation” has the meaning assigned to it by section 195(1);

“director”, in relation to a body corporate, includes—

(a)

a person occupying the position of director, by whatever name called,

(b)

a person who effectively directs or has a material influence over the business of the body corporate,

(c)

a person in accordance with whose directions or instructions the directors of the body corporate are accustomed to act, unless the directors are accustomed so to act by reason only that they do so on advice given by the person in a professional capacity, and

(d)

where the affairs of the body corporate are managed by its members, any of the members who perform or exercise the functions of such management;

“enactment” has the same meaning as it has in the Interpretation Act 2005;

“gambling” means, whether in-person or by remote means, betting, gaming or participating in a lottery;

“gambling account” means an account held by a person with a licensee of a remote gambling licence—

(a)

where money is lodged with that licensee for the purposes of making a relevant payment to the licensee in respect of relevant gambling activities by remote means,

(b)

to enable the person to make relevant payments to the licensee,

(c)

to hold winnings (if any), and

(d)

that enables the person to view the balance, relevant payments made and winnings received;

“gambling activity” means—

(a)

providing a betting activity, a game or a lottery, or

(b)

selling or supplying, or offering to sell or supply, a gambling product or a gambling related service;

“gambling licence” means—

(a)

a Business to Consumer gambling licence,

(b)

a gambling licence for a charitable or philanthropic purpose, or

(c)

a Business to Business gambling licence;

“gambling licence for a charitable or philanthropic purpose” has the meaning assigned to it by section 88(1);

“gambling product” means any machine (including a gaming machine), equipment or software used, constructed or adapted for or in connection with gambling;

“gambling related service” means any service provided, directly or indirectly, in the course of business which relates to a gambling activity or a gambling product, or is ancillary to a gambling activity or a gambling product and includes providing, for the operation of a gambling activity—

(a)

odds to licensees,

(b)

online hosting services,

(c)

support and maintenance which is indispensable to its operation,

(d)

risk management services,

(e)

fraud management services,

(f)

services to implement measures to protect and safeguard participants,

(g)

the installation, maintenance or upgrading of software, and

(h)

any other service the Authority prescribes;

“game” means a game—

(a)

of skill or chance, or partly of skill and partly of chance, and

(b)

where a participant in the game may, having made a payment, win a prize of money or money’s worth;

“gaming” means providing a game or participating in a game;

“gaming licence” means—

(a)

an in-person gaming licence,

(b)

a remote gaming licence, or

(c)

an in-person and remote gaming licence;

“gaming machine” means—

(a)

a machine manufactured or adapted for the purpose of allowing a person to participate, upon the making of a payment, in a gambling activity, and

(b)

where the outcome of that gambling activity is determined either by the action of the machine or by manipulation of the machine by the person, or both,

but does not include a machine that is an amusement machine within the meaning of section 120(2) of the Finance Act 1992;

“in-person betting licence” has the meaning assigned to it by section 85(1)(a);

“in-person gambling licence” means a Business to Consumer gambling licence which authorises a licensee to provide a relevant gambling activity from one or more premises in the State whether or not the licence concerned also authorises the licensee to provide the activity by remote means;

“in-person gaming licence” has the meaning assigned to it by section 86(3)(a);

“in-person lottery licence” has the meaning assigned to it by section 87(3)(a);

“in-person and remote betting licence” has the meaning assigned to it by section 85(1)(c);

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