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Ireland warned it could not beat offshore market which has 5.9% BAP
Online betting in Ireland is live. Casino licences and action against overseas illegal sites are delayed because the regulator is short of money.
The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland told Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan it would stall remote-gaming licensing after Budget 2026 gave it €13.35M instead of the €26M it had asked for. In March the authority said key objectives would be deferred or cut.
GRAI already lists gaming-licence applications for 2027 and 2028. It now says operator-registration systems go live early next year.
The same letter de-prioritised overseas enforcement. GRAI warned it would have “very limited capacity and capability” for compliance and enforcement, and would “de-prioritise measures to tackle extraterritorial black-market monitoring on enforcement”. It called that “regrettable in terms of harmful gambling and anti-money laundering”, and flagged a “significant risk” to Ireland meeting Financial Action Task Force standards.
Blask data for September 2025–September 2026 shows the slice that letter leaves thinly policed. Licensed brands hold the search. Offshore demand ended September at 5.9%.
The projected revenue line barely moved. Offshore CEB was 5.6% of the September 2026 pot.
Online gambling stays off GRAI’s licence list until 2027, only online betting is legal. The remainder is the overseas slice the regulator says it cannot fully watch. Until casino licensing opens, that remainder sits outside Irish player-protection and AML rules.