Child gambling surge sparks Irish Government action

Ireland has announced plans to crack down on gambling ads for children following results from an international study.

The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) said it would impose the “heaviest penalties” in Europe for companies which promote betting to children and ban gambling sponsorships at events aimed at young people.

The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs by the EU’s Drug Agency published findings that Ireland is above the European average for child gambling, with almost a third of 15 to 16-year-olds having gambled in the past year.

Child protection

The GRAI said it would “take note of the findings” of the European survey, and has commissioned its own research into gambling in Ireland.

It explained that its mission is to “effectively regulate and educate in order to safeguard current and future generations from gambling harm”.

The Gambling Regulation Act will give the GRAI the power to issue fines. The regulator stated: “Child protection is one of the key principles of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 and will therefore be a major focus of our work.”

Destructive obsession

Declan Lynch, a columnist for the Sunday Independent, noted: “30 years ago Irish youths were way above the European average for drinking and smoking, now they have moved online where gambling is rampant”.

He described how alcohol abuse was relatively public and visible to young people growing up. But now, a parent can gamble away their child’s education with no outward indication to their family that anything has happened. He added: “With the gambling, we have somehow found an obsession that can be destructive for a longer period of time than the drink.”

Lynch warned: ”They say that having a betting app on your smartphone is like having a casino in your pocket – and it is – but it is also the kind of casino in which younger people are more comfortable than their elders.”

The journalist explained how he has been reporting on this topic for 20 years. He wrote: “That it took until 2025 to regulate this industry in any meaningful way is a symptom of this failure to grasp the enormity of what has been happening.”