Gaming and licencing

Betting and Gaming

RDJ’s multidisciplinary betting and gaming team advise a diverse and growing range of businesses that operate in Ireland, both online and also those with a high-street presence.

We have significant experience advising clients on all aspects of their establishment in Ireland and their ongoing legal and regulatory needs.

Recent advices include:

the regulatory and licensing requirements that apply to different activities that fall within the scope of the gambling/gaming laws in Ireland.
commercial contracts, intellectual property, e-payments and advertising.
the tax laws applicable to gambling and gaming business activities.
the regulatory and commercial aspects of the acquisition of regulated betting and gaming businesses.
the use of promotional competitions and lotteries as part of a marketing campaign.

About the Legislative Framework

The principal pieces of legislation governing the sector include the Betting Act 1931 and the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956, each of which have been amended several times.

Advances in technology have long been embraced by the gaming and betting sectors resulting in a shift to digital and online gaming activities.

However, the regulatory regime that applies in Ireland has, in many respects, been outpaced by those developments. As a result, businesses that are active in the gaming, betting and gambling sector find that their activities are governed by a regulatory framework that does not fully reflect the importance of technology to their business model.

In recent years, different sets of proposals for major legislative reform of the gambling and betting regulatory landscape have been under consideration – the latest proposals include a new Gambling Control Bill. You can read more about these proposals here.