384. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the actions he is taking to regulate the gambling sector in the context of reports indicating that Ireland has some of the highest rates of gambling in the world (details supplied); and the measures in place to prevent the targeting of vulnerable gambling addicts by betting companies. [69681/26]

Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: The Gambling Regulation Act 2024 (the Act) establishes a comprehensive framework for the licensing and regulation of betting, gaming, and certain lotteries, including activities provided online to persons in the State. It also establishes a new, independent statutory body, the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI). Last year, I signed orders to commence the first provisions of the Act and to establish the GRAI from 5 March 2025.

At its core, the Act is a public health measure aimed at protecting citizens from gambling harm, particularly children, young people, and those in our communities who are more vulnerable.

In February of this year, I signed a commencement order for key elements of the Act, including the enforcement and complaints functions that underpin the new licensing framework. The order confers robust investigative powers on the GRAI and allows for administrative sanctions in the form of fines of up to €20 million, or 10% of a licensee’s turnover, whichever is greater, to be imposed on licensees found to be in contravention of the Act. A number of criminal enforcement powers have also been commenced, as have provisions allowing the GRAI to apply to the High Court for an order directing illegal operators to cease operations.

The order also provides for the commencement of several other key measures, including:

• prohibiting the use of credit cards as a means of payment for gambling;
• the continuation of prohibitions on allowing a child to gamble;
• a prohibition on allowing a child to be employed by licensees;
• enabling customers to set monetary limits on how much they can gamble online or remotely;
• obligations on licensees to notify the GRAI of suspicious gambling activity;
• obligations on remote gambling providers to protect children online; and
• safeguards for account holders, such as the ability of the GRAI to limit the amount of money that may be lodged with a licensee.

Additionally, the Act provides for a number of safeguards to protect people, most notably children and vulnerable persons, from the harms associated with gambling, with a particular focus on online activities. The advertising provisions of the Act of 2024 primarily apply to those licensed by the GRAI.

Section 144 provides for a wide-ranging power to allow the GRAI to prescribe the times, places, and events where gambling advertising can be broadcast, displayed, or published, and allows the GRAI to specify the frequency with which advertising can be shown or broadcast and the duration of such advertisements. Section 146 provides that advertising of gambling activities on social media or video-sharing services may only be permitted where a person has an account on a social media or video-sharing service and has specifically subscribed to a licensee’s account on that service. Section 149 provides for a watershed prohibiting gambling advertising between 5:30 am and 9 pm on audio-visual on-demand media services, on-demand sound services, and broadcasters. Work is underway to commence these advertising provisions.

Part 2, Chapter 4 of the Act provides for the establishment of a Social Impact Fund, which will be financed by an obligatory annual contribution from all commercial gambling licensees (other than licensees for Charitable and Philanthropic purposes). Section 51 of the Act provides that the Authority may make payments from the Fund for the following purposes:

• research, training, community interventions and other initiatives aimed at reducing or eliminating compulsive or excessive gambling and the social impact of compulsive or excessive gambling;
• public education and awareness-raising measures for the purposes of highlighting the social impact of compulsive or excessive gambling, or informing the public about the resources available to address compulsive or excessive gambling;
• the provision of services for the treatment of participants engaged in compulsive or excessive gambling, and to other persons affected by compulsive or excessive gambling;
• cooperation with persons outside the State in research and training which will benefit persons in the State by reducing or eliminating compulsive or excessive gambling and the social impact of compulsive or excessive gambling; or
• projects, programmes or initiatives which are compatible with the purposes referred to above.

Section 54 of the Act provides for the making of regulations setting the percentage of licensees’ turnover to be payable as a contribution to the Fund and the manner and date by which such contributions shall be made. My Department is currently working with the Office of the Attorney General on these regulations.

Furthermore, section 45 of the Act specifies that the GRAI shall establish and maintain a National Gambling Exclusion Register, which shall contain information on persons who have excluded themselves from participating in relevant gambling activities by remote means with licensees of Business to Consumer gambling licences. The Register will enable an individual to request that they be excluded from participating in remote gambling indefinitely. This is an important public health protection measure. The provisions of the Act underpinning the Register reflect how such exclusion schemes work in other jurisdictions and international best practice for how such systems operate.

The protections and safeguards provided for in the Act are contingent on the providers in the sector being licensed and regulated by the GRAI. Officials in my Department are continuing to work, in collaboration with the GRAI, on progressing the further commencement of the remaining provisions of the Act as quickly as possible.

In the interim, there are a number of practical tools available to help limit an individual's exposure to gambling advertising and content. More information on some of the tools available is set out on the GRAI’s Protection Tools webpage. https://www.grai.ie/gambling-safety/get-support/protection-tools