A watchdog established to protect the Irish public from gambling harm has received official Cabinet approval.
The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI), which becomes operational today, is one of a number of measures introduced under gambling restrictions passed by the Oireachtas in October.
During the passage of the legislation, James Browne – the Minister responsible for the Bill at the time – said that he had resisted “endless” pressure from the betting industry to weaken restrictions.
Tackling gambling harm
Signing the commencement order to authorise the creation of the gambling watchdog, Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said the move marked “a new era for the regulation of gambling in the Irish State”.
While streamlining and simplifying Ireland’s outdated licensing framework, O’Callaghan said the GRAI would also “take into account the harms associated with problem gambling, providing safeguards to protect people from those harms, especially children”.
Once fully enacted, the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 will also create a social impact fund to address problem gambling, and ban advertising across on-demand services, television and radio between 5:30am and 9pm.
Gambling ad saturation
Research published by the Institute of Public Health in August found that 18 to 34-year-old gamblers in Ireland encountered betting marketing on a near daily basis.
One participant told researchers from the Institute for Social Marketing and Health at the University of Stirling: “Everywhere I can think of I think I’ve probably seen gambling adverts”.
Another commented: “You see it on football jerseys, all over sports websites, when you’re watching football, when you’re watching horse racing, the first ad after it all is Skybet or Paddy Power”.
The study authors concluded: “The high awareness of gambling adverts, offers and promotions, and the fact that gambling marketing was a topic of discussion for most participants, suggests it has become a regular part of people’s lives.”
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