GRAI Claims Success Against Unlicensed Irish Betting Sites

The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland has taken action against dozens of unlicensed betting operators since the start of July. Anne Marie Caulfield, the chief executive of the GRAI, confirmed the scale of the crackdown on Wednesday. She noted that the regulator began issuing licenses to online bookmakers earlier this year under new legislation.

The new legal framework overhauled the governance of the gambling industry. The authority now holds powers that range from sending cease and desist letters to pursuing High Court action. Caulfield stated that most unlicensed players halted their operations after receiving the initial warnings. She confirmed that the regulator had not yet needed to take the matter to the High Court.

The targets of these actions included a wide variety of businesses. Caulfield described them as ranging from small Irish bookmakers to major online operators. She specifically identified the two largest prediction markets in the world among those targeted. She did not name the specific companies involved in the correspondence.

Unlicensed operators often bypass the legal safeguards required of licensed businesses. These safeguards include a ban on the use of credit cards and mandatory age checks. The GRAI has also begun receiving complaints from customers through its consumer protection division. Many of these complaints relate to difficulties in retrieving money from online bookies.

The Gambling Regulation Act of 2024 requires licensees to respond promptly to customer requests for payment and account closure. A survey commissioned by the GRAI and published by the Economic and Social Research Institute on Wednesday highlights the friction in these processes. Gamblers reported that opening accounts and depositing cash is easier than closing accounts or withdrawing funds.

Pete Lunn, the head of behavioural research at the ESRI, noted a clear asymmetry in the user experience. He acknowledged that the researchers did not drill into the specific technical issues causing this friction. However, he observed that online betting companies cross-sell casino and slot machine games to these customers. This strategy draws users toward forms of gambling where the risk of developing problems is higher.

The survey found that almost four in 10 people who initially open online accounts for horse racing or sport go on to other forms of gambling. These include casino games, slot machines, and lotteries. Lunn argued that while apps are a legitimate tool for making money, businesses must establish where they cross the line. He emphasized the need to monitor this behavior closely.

Most regular gamblers hold more than one online account. Approximately 10 per cent of the 1,000 people surveyed said they had four or more accounts. One in seven respondents said that emails or app notifications prompted their most recent gambling session. Some of these users receive such notifications every day.

A quarter of respondents were trying to reduce their gambling or wanted to do so. However, one third of that group reported betting the same amounts or more than a year previously. Regarding their most recent session, 26 per cent of online punters said they had lost a lot of money. This figure was higher than the 17 per cent of those betting in person who reported similar losses.

Licensed betting businesses will contribute to a social impact fund that the GRAI aims to establish next year. The authority is also working with major market players on a self-exclusion system for those who fear they have a problem. The Irish Bookmakers Association welcomed the report, stating that it had always insisted regulation should be based on evidence.

The ESRI published Patterns of Online and In-person Gambling in Ireland on Wednesday. The report was authored by Deirdre Robertson, Diarmaid Ó Ceallaigh, Shane Timmons, and Pete Lunn.