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Sports betting has been a popular pastime in Ireland for centuries. In the seventeenth century, King Charles II did much to develop horse racing (arguably the sport most closely associated with betting) across both England and Ireland, while records of competitive races and events stretch as far back as the third century AD.
More recently, the sports betting space in Ireland has been transformed by the proliferation of online betting options. The move away from traditional bricks-and-mortar bookmakers toward websites and apps was catalyzed by restrictions on in-person trade implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic: More than half of all betting in Ireland took place online in 2020 and that percentage will surely only increase going forward.
Such a dramatic change in the nature of sports betting in Ireland has understandably led to a larger number of voices calling for regulation to be updated to better suit the modern gambling industry in Ireland.
The Emerald Isle is often branded as the ‘Wild West’ for online gambling given the lack of centralized regulation, with many linking this patchwork approach to Ireland’s perennial top spot on the list of European countries recording the highest betting losses.
It seems as though this regulatory revolution is now on the way, with the Gambling Regulation Bill currently making its way along the legislative pathway. But what might this mean for online punters and operators in Ireland?
For a start, it would make online gambling safer overall. When searching for a new online betting site, Irish punters can already make sure they only consider legal, licensed options by using a reputable bookmaker comparison site like My Betting Sites.
However, under the current system, the relationship (and therefore any dispute) between remote operators and Irish customers is not governed by Irish laws, potentially leaving punters exposed to legal frameworks with fewer protections. Revised gambling regulations could overhaul this and increase safety for Irish online sports bettors.
Updated legislation can also help to improve online security, verification and social responsibility processes. For example, in its report on Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Gambling Regulation Bill, the Joint Committee on Justice highlighted DNS blocking to limit access to unlicensed operators as well as the introduction of automated verification checks.
One area that will certainly be of interest on the operator side is how gambling advertising is influenced by a new regulatory framework. The aforementioned Joint Committee report, for example, also recommends pre-watershed bans on all forms of gambling advertising and the potential decoupling of sports advertising and gambling advertising.
This has recently been a hot topic across the Irish sea in England, most notably in relation to betting company sponsorship of English professional football teams. Several clubs in the League of Ireland currently feature betting sites as their primary shirt sponsor including reigning champions, Shamrock Rovers. Heavyweight operators like Paddy Power owner Flutter, which is making a conscious effort to target more recreational players, may have to rethink strategies if current levels of brand exposure become unavailable to them.
