It is fair to say that the history of Ireland in general is a complex one, which becomes even more tricky to unravel when you begin to look specifically at the world of gambling in the country.
Because of the fact that Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are two well-established countries nowadays, many might not realise that the formation of the latter didn’t actually occur until the sixth of December 1922. That means that, prior to that point, any rules around gambling in Ireland were essentially the same as the rules for the rest of the United Kingdom.
A Fairly Recent History
Because the Republic of Ireland didn’t establish itself as an independent country until 1922, the history of gambling in general in Ireland is a relatively recent one. That isn’t to say that there isn’t anything interesting to say around the matter, but rather that it is worth acknowledging that we don’t need to go back to Irish goat farmers playing dice in the 17th century in order to begin the journey of looking into gambling in the country. Yes, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that gambling has taken place in Ireland since the Middle Ages, but the same is true across the rest of the UK.
What we’re interested in here is the gambling activity that has been specifically Irish, whereby the rules and laws have been governed by the Irish Free State from the outset. Gambling in general took off in a more effusive way during the 16th and 17th centuries, mainly because of the opening of public houses and the increase in alcohol consumption, as well as the increase in horse racing as an official sport. Even so, we’re predominantly interested in the period of time after which gambling became legislated in Ireland in accordance with the Betting Act of 1926, which is relatively modern compared to the United Kingdom in general.
Horse Racing in Ireland
There is arguably no sport that is more intrinsically linked with Ireland and Irish culture than horse racing. It is one of the Emerald Isle’s most popular spectator sports, on top of which the country has produced some of the strongest horses and trainers in the history of racing. It is obviously the case that the Irish horse racing industry is closely linked to the British one, but it is also a factor all of its own, which is why it is worth exploring a potted history of it. Whilst the actual laws and rules around gambling on horse racing are tied up with the UK ones, it is worthy of its own mention.
There is an ancient Irish text called Togail Bruidne Dá Derga, which translates to ‘Destruction of the Mansion of Da-Derga’, that mentions chariot racing taking place on the Curragh whilst Conaire Mór was the monarch. Although the reign of the monarch is disputed, it is accepted that it took place at some point between 110 BC and 60 AD, which will give you some sense of how far back the sport finds its roots in the country. The medieval Irish manuscript The Book of Leinster has a poem that mentions racing at the Curragh, near Croom and on the beach at Kerry.
A royal warrant from 1603 is the earliest specific evidence that we have for racing in Ireland, stating that the Governor of Derry would be allowed to hold fairs and markets where horse racing could be staged. It was a popular sport in Ireland in the 17th century, with correspondence between Sir William Temple and King Charles II stating that ‘horses in Ireland are a drug’. The 1666 introduction of the King’s Plate Races saw horse racing in the country begin to become more competitive, whilst the creation of the Down Royal Corporation of Horse Breeders in 1685 saw the breeding of horses in Ireland promoted.
That is obviously a key part of understanding how the country’s strong relationship with horse racing and breeding began. Steeplechasing in Ireland began with the introduction of a 4.5-mile race between Buttevant and Doneraile in Cork, starting a trend of such racing occurring throughout Ireland. It was in the 1830s that artificial horses began to be laid out in different locations, whilst a regulatory body called the Society of Sportsmen was created, changing its name to the Jockey Club in 1755 and then taking on its current moniker of the Turf Club 29 years later.
The Inception of Modern Horse Racing in Ireland
In spite of the outbreak of the First World War, horse racing continued in Ireland during that period and it was only during the 1916 Rising that a six-week ban on race meetings was introduced. It was briefly banned in 1917 because of complaints about the intake of oats by thoroughbred horses, but public outcry allowed the Curragh Festival to take place before the entire ban was lifted on the 20th of June. The British National Stud was based at the Curragh in 1915, changing to become the Irish National Stud when the Free State declared independence.
It was after the move to take independence that efforts were made in order to introduce regulation to the industry in Ireland, then a push to promote Irish horses on the international stage. The Irish Free State put forward legislation to allow off-course betting in 1926, whilst the Tote was introduced four years later in order to raise funds for horse racing as an industry. The Emergency that was in place during the Second World War saw foreign motor travel restricted, which was beneficial to horse racing thanks to the increase in spectator numbers at the courses in Ireland.
In 1945, the Irish Racing Board was set up, which was the body that later became Horse Racing Ireland, overseeing the economics of the industry. It wasn’t until 1995 that the Irish Horse Authority was set up, then in 2001 HRI followed. The organisations introduced measures to see the horse racing industry go from strength to strength, getting to the point that it is worth around €1 billion per annum and employs more than 14,000 people. All of that wouldn’t have been possible without the countless people who have always placed bets on horse racing since it was first introduced as a sport.
The Betting Act of 1926
Having freed itself from the rest of the United Kingdom, Ireland had to go about creating its own laws and legislation when it came to betting and gambling. The first move to do so came about courtesy of the Betting Act of 1926, which was outlined as being ‘an Act to make provision for the better regulation and control of persons engaged in the business of book-making, to regulate and control the use of totalisators, and for those and other purposes to amend the law related to betting and betting-houses’. In other words, a complete overhaul of how betting would be handled.
Within the specifics of the Act, it looked at definitions around gambling, as well as the prohibition of acting as a bookmaker without a licence. Those that wished to do so would need to get a ‘certificate of personal fitness’, with the Act also looking to outline why someone might be refused such a certificate. A bookmaker with a licence would need to register their offices, as well as obtain a certificate of suitability for the premises that they wished to be based out of. The grounds for the refusal of such a certificate were present in the Act, as well as how an appeal would be handled.
Everything from the need to display a certificate of registration of a premises as being allowed for gambling through to the issuing of a temporary licence was covered by the Act, as was what would happen in the case where a joint registered proprietor was sought. The Act said that a bookie would need to produce their licence on demand, whilst officers were granted both powers of entry into establishments and the ability to investigate what was happening. Those from outside of Saorstát Éireann were forbidden from betting by the Act, as unlicensed totalisators were prohibited.
Totalisators in general were handled by the Act, which included the grant of totalisator licences and the disposal of the fees and profits of totalisators. The Act was a wide-ranging one, handling any nature of gambling and betting that could be foreseen at the time. Having been something of a Wild West before that point, the horse racing industry began to be more regulated and anyone wanting to take bets on any sporting event had to be licensed to do so. Anything else that happened was still being governed by the British Betting Act of 1853, which remained the case until the Betting Act of 1931.
The Betting Act of 1931
It is probably fair to say that Ireland was ahead of the times when it came to gambling legislation. The 1926 Act introduced a levy on gambling revenue that was 5% of turnover, whilst the UK mainland didn’t introduce any such thing until nearly 40 years later. The Totalisator Act of 1929 helped to introduce some more formal thinking around the Tote, even though it didn’t become a net contributor to Irish racing for some time. The Act of 1931 had much the same aim as the earlier Act, looking to better regulate and control bookmaking in the country, replacing the earlier legislation in numerous aspects.
There were rules in place around the continuance of any existing licences, as well as the issuing of certificates of personal fitness for both residents of Saorstát Éireann and those who were not. Things such as the issuance of licences and the grounds for refusal of the issuing of a licence were still covered, as were the likes of the registration of bookmaking offices. Courts could revoke the licence, with the Minister for Justice also able to revoke certain licences thanks to the Act. Certain premises were restricted in terms of their use as registered premises, with hours of business also being put in place.
Bets of under one shilling were prohibited, as were bets by those under the age of 18. Saving for bookmakers’ assistants and clerks and assistants in registered premises was enacted, whilst anyone younger than 18 was not allowed in a betting office, with penalties issued for false statements around a person’s age. The Act also put rules in place around loitering near a registered premises, on top of which advertising around betting on football matches was prohibited. Other issues such as expenses and repeals were also covered in the verbose wording of the Act.
The Gaming and Lotteries Act of 1956
The next big change to the gambling rules in Ireland came about with the introduction of the Gaming and Lotteries Act in 1956. This made some big changes to the law in Ireland, including the move to make casinos illegal across the country. Although lotteries were permitted in some limited forms, it was mainly something that was also forbidden. If they were to be considered legal, lotteries had to have a specific licence, as well as small prizes and mainly be done for the purposes of raising money for a charity or another form of philanthropic exercise.
One of the biggest issues around the 1956 Act was a loophole that allowed for the creation of exclusive members’ clubs. These therefore began to spring up around the country, offering gambling services to people on the proviso that it was legal to play cards in a private dwelling. Such clubs effectively became casinos, with slot machines, blackjack, roulette and other offerings played behind closed doors. When the local authorities were left to try to enforce the Act, it proved to be entirely ineffective, resulting in the likes of gaming machines set up at amusement parks or travelling carnivals.
In spite of the fact that legislation said that the maximum bet could be 6d, a number of machines could accept significantly more than that, going up as high as €500. Another concern, particularly of those who would often win large sums, was the fact that the 1956 Act included an exemption that the state’s gambling debts could not be enforced. In other words, bookmakers and other services could refuse to pay out a win, such as in 2011 when a casino in Dublin did not have to pay out a win of €11,000 to a roulette winner, which obviously favoured casinos hugely.
In 2008, a review of the Act was undertaken on account of the fact that it was seen as outdated, to say nothing of being poorly enforced. This was during a time when online betting had seen a huge increase, yet it wasn’t in any way covered by the Acts that had come before. This was due to become the Gambling Control Bill that was passed through Parliament in 2013, putting in place a new regulatory framework for the modern era. Remarkably, it took more than a decade for this to actually become anything in Ireland that would meaningfully impact gambling in the country.
The Establishment of a State-Licensed Lottery
Although virtually every country in the world has a lottery nowadays, it took until 1986 for an official, state-funded one to be launched in Ireland. Two years earlier, a coalition government made up of Fine Gael and the Labour Party introduced an economic plan entitled ‘Building on Reality 1985-1987’. It proposed that funds for sports could be raised by introducing a new National Lottery, eventually becoming law thanks to the National Lottery Act of 1986. That stipulated that proceeds from said lottery had to be used to fund sport, national cultures, recreation, community health and the arts.
A public tender process to run the lottery was carried out by the government, with the Irish Hospitals’ Sweepstakes entering. That was an organisation that had been created in 1930 in order to fund hospitals, entering voluntary liquidation when it failed to win the tender. Instead, the contract was awarded to An Post National Lottery Company, 80% of which was owned by the country’s state-owned postal service provider, An Post, whilst the remaining 20% was owned by the Minister for Finance. The licence was issued for a ten-year period initially, but the term was extended to 2000 in 1992.
Two other applications were made and then withdrawn in 2001, resulting in An Post National Lottery Company being the only bidder for the tender. It continued to run it for the following decade, then, in the wake of the 2008 economic downturn, the Irish government decided to look to privatise it as part of a €3 billion drive that was the Economic Adjustment Programme. It was confirmed in the April of 2012 that a 20-year licence to operate the lottery would be granted, with about 30% of all ticket sales still going to good causes. A new Act around the National Lottery was passed in 2013.
That new Act allowed the licence to be sold, as well as for some restrictions around internet gambling to be lifted so that people could buy their tickets online. At the time, the ‘natural environment’ was added to the list of good causes that could receive funding from the National Lottery. Premier Lotteries Ireland DAC was confirmed as having made the winning bid of €405 million, the owners of which were the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan; the same company that owned the United Kingdom’s lottery, Camelot Group. An announcement was made that half of the sale proceeds would go to building a new children’s hospital.
In terms of the actual games offered by the state lottery in Ireland, it launched scratch cards on the 23rd of March 1987 and sold around one million on the first day that they were available. From the moment that it began operating, the National Lottery has sold both scratch cards and tickets for the main draws through retailers around the country. There have also been new and different games launched to supplement the main Lotto game, the inaugural draw for which took place on the 16th of April 1988. From EuroDreams to Daily Million and EuroMillions, numerous games have been introduced since.
The Betting (Amendment) Act of 2015
From the moment that it was introduced in 1931, the Betting Act in Ireland has seen numerous updates brought in. Most of these have been small and incidental, looking to ensure that certain parts of the 1931 Act are modernised. Arguably the biggest change to this came about in 2015, which was when the Betting (Amendment) Act was introduced. This was done in order to update the Act to the era of online and remote gambling, which had become more and more present in the preceding years. It legalised such betting for the first time, requiring any company that takes bets from someone in Ireland to have a licence.
The point of the Act was to try to put remote bookmakers and those with brick-and-mortar premises onto a level playing field for the first time in the history of gambling in Ireland. It was signed into law by the Irish President on the 15th of March 2015, updating the provisions that already existed and introducing a regime around the licensing of remote bookmakers. One of the key aspects of the Act was that it said that betting operators would need to have a licence, irrespective of whether they had actual premises in Ireland and regardless of the types of bets that they take.
The Act also allowed for both corporate entities and individuals to apply for a licence. Previously, a specific person had to have the licence attached to their name, meaning that any change to corporate structure midway through a licensing year would require a change of licence holder. The betting duty of 1% on a company’s turnover was extended, as well as being applied to remote bookmakers. For remote bookies, the betting duty was 1% of ‘every bet entered into’, which was essentially 1% of turnover. Anyone operating as a bookmaker, whether in Ireland or remotely, without a licence would be committing an offence.
Gambling Regulation Act of 2024
Having read all of the above, you might well be able to tell that the laws and legislation around gambling in Ireland are somewhat confusing and mixed. There was an attempt to change this brought about through the Gambling Regulation Act of 2024, which was signed by the Minister for Justice on the fourth of March 2025. One of the main aims of the Order was to introduce a Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, which will serve as the regulator and licensor for all gambling activities in Ireland, being an independent body and the only one to carry out such a role.
During the first few months of the GRAI’s existence, it introduced a phased rollout of its function in a regulatory sense, focussing on licensing initially. The hope was that such a staged approach would facilitate a smooth transition to its operational capacity, as well as gradually enacting the Act. Licences that had either been granted or renewed before the 30th of June 2025 would continue to be governed by the legislation that was already in place, unless the licence was revoked. New licence categories were introduced, being one of the following:
- Business to Consumer Gambling Licence
- Business to Business Gambling Licence
- Licences for Charitable and Philanthropic Purposes