Casino Regulation in Ireland for October 2024
Ireland has had a long and somewhat interesting history when it comes to online gambling. It was technically illegal for players in Ireland to play any type of casino game. Of course, as is the case in other countries where gambling is “technically” illegal, no one was actually prosecuted for playing a few hands of blackjack or taking a spin on a roulette wheel. The casino industry still existed and people still gambled, but all of this occurred in a “grey area”, where it was okay to gamble in a privately licensed club, but casinos were not officially regulated.
This changed in 2013 with the launch of the Gambling Control Bill. The bill established new rules concerning gambling in Ireland, and while there are still some uncertainties and a little confusion, there are no rules prohibiting Irish residents from gambling. This also applies when those players are gambling at online casinos that are licensed and regulated elsewhere.
Simply put, these international casinos are not strictly licensed in Ireland and don’t work with any Irish-based regulators. However, they are licensed in other regions and because there are no rules against Irish online gambling, they allow players from Ireland to join and play.
In 2020, the Irish government stated its intent to establish a dedicated gambling authority. This will create a massive change behind the scenes and could allow Ireland to follow in the footsteps of countries like Sweden, which recently established its own gambling authority and has been reaping the benefits since. It won’t change many things for Irish players, as they can still enjoy their favourite games on licensed, legal, and fair online casinos, but it means that those casinos will be officially licensed by an Irish authority, making them more trustworthy for Irish players.
When that change does happen, you can learn all about it here at Irish Online Casino. We will also add Irish licenses to our list of criteria, uncovering the best sites.