Ireland's GRAI Publishes Key Updates in First Annual Report 2025

The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) has published its inaugural Annual Report for 2025. Formally established in March 2025, the GRAI publishes its role to licence, supervise and control gambling activities as set out in the Gambling Regulation Act 2024.

In its first year of existence, the GRAI undertook significant preparatory work as it set about building a modern, robust framework to regulate the gambling sector in Ireland.

Authority’s Statement of Strategy 2025-2027

At the core of this work was the Authority’s Statement of Strategy 2025-2027, which sets out a roadmap for the first stage of regulation which focuses on building strong foundations, developing robust systems of licensing, compliance and enforcement, and engaging openly with stakeholders across society. Six pillars underpin the GRAI’s strategy for the first three years: licensing; monitoring and compliance; enforcement; consumer protection and awareness; people, organisation, and governance; and a digital-first approach

The 2025 Annual Report outlines the initial steps taken, with the GRAI developing processes for the rollout of phased licensing and laying the groundwork for compliance, enforcement, and consumer protection functions.

Comments on the publication

Commenting on the publication of the GRAI’s first Annual Report Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan said:

“Last year was a significant year as a new era for the regulation of gambling in Ireland commenced.

"The establishment of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, together with its three-year strategy, signalled a strong commitment to replacing Ireland’s outdated gambling laws with a modernised and robust licencing framework. The legislation is built around an important mandate which balances the rights of citizens to gamble, and the rights of legitimate operators to conduct lawful business. The GRAI has taken significant steps in bringing the ambition behind the legislation to fruition.”

GRAI chairperson Paul Quinn commented:

“Gambling regulation is an increasingly complex task. As a newly established independent regulator, we have been entrusted with a vital public mandate. 2025 was a formative and vital one for the GRAI as we put the essential building blocks in place to ensure we are a trusted, recognised and effective regulator of the gambling sector in Ireland.

"The Authority is acutely aware of both the responsibilities conferred on it by the Oireachtas and the challenges inherent in regulating a dynamic and technologically enabled sector. We look forward to continuing to work with the Minister to ensure we have the capabilities and legislative measures required to successfully fulfil the strong mandate entrusted to us.

"The task ahead is to regulate in a manner that is robust, proportionate and responsive to risk while remaining firmly anchored in the protection of those most vulnerable to gambling-related harm.”

In 2025, the GRAI focused on building the structures, systems, staff and capabilities required to implement a comprehensive gambling licencing, compliance and enforcement regime, ahead of its first invitation for applications for remote betting licences in February 2026.

The GRAI launched its first major brand awareness campaign in October 2025, based on ESRI research highlighting the  extent of harmful gambling in Ireland, which is ten times higher than previously thought.

The GRAI also set about designing the administrative, governance and ICT systems necessary to administer funding through the Social Impact Fund, which will be used to fund treatment, education, awareness and research into gambling harm.

GRAI chief executive officer Anne Marie Caulfield stated:

“The establishment of the GRAI is ongoing, but it is progressing strongly. The two central objectives of our legislation are to ensure that people are protected when they choose to gamble, and that licensees operate in a properly regulated environment. Since these protections are grounded in the legal obligations on licenced entities, the GRAI has prioritised licencing. I am confident that the foundations we laid in 2025 are strong, enabling us to continue to build an effective regulator for the gambling sector, which helps to protect an informed public from gambling harms.

"What we have achieved to date is the culmination of a lot of work by a very dedicated team of colleagues in the GRAI. It has also involved close collaboration with our parent Department, the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, other Regulators, other State Agencies, and our wide-ranging stakeholders.  We have a common goal, that of putting consumer protection, the reduction of harmful gambling, and the safeguarding of children at the centre of how this industry is regulated.”

You can read the GRAI’s Annual Report 2025: in English / as Gaeilge