Lottery licence in Ireland
A lottery licence is the legal permission an Irish promoter needs to run a lottery for money or money’s worth, issued by the District Court under section 28 of the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956 and, once the relevant provisions are commenced, by the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland under section 87 of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024. It covers the draw itself, the price of entry and the prizes, and it says nothing about casino games or sports betting, which sit under separate licences.
How a lottery licence works under Irish law
Under section 28 of the 1956 Act, as amended in 2019, a person applies to a judge of the District Court for the district where the lotteries will run, and the application has to be made at least 60 days before the first lottery is promoted. The judge looks at the character of the applicant, the number of periodical lotteries already operating locally and the purpose of the lottery, and the local Garda superintendent may appear and give evidence.
A licence granted this way lasts for the period written on it, never more than 12 months.
The 2024 Act moves the job to the GRAI, and section 87(3) sets out three kinds: an in-person lottery licence for premises in the State, a remote lottery licence for lotteries provided online or by other remote means, and a combined in-person and remote licence. Each licence names the specific lottery products or activities, the “relevant lottery”, that the holder may offer, chosen from a list the Authority prescribes. For a once-off lottery, section 113 requires the application at least 30 days before people are first invited to take part, together with the draw date, the entry price and how the winnings are funded.
The 1956 Act licence against the 2024 Act licence
The two regimes overlap for a while, because section 252 of the 2024 Act keeps a licence granted under section 28 of the 1956 Act in force for the rest of its stated term, still governed by the older Act.
Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956 | Gambling Regulation Act 2024 |
|---|---|
| Granted by a judge of the District Court | Issued by the GRAI under section 87 |
| Application at least 60 days before the first lottery | Once-off lottery application at least 30 days ahead under section 113 |
| No separate remote category in the licence | In-person, remote, or combined in-person and remote |
| Valid for up to 12 months, then expires | Existing 1956 licences run to term under section 252 |
Where Irish players meet a lottery licence
Most readers meet this licence through the local club draw, the parish raffle or a charity’s weekly lotto, where the promoter’s licence or permit is what makes the draw lawful in the first place.
The National Lottery is a different case entirely. It is regulated under the National Lottery Act 2013 rather than under either licensing regime, so a player buying a Lotto ticket is not dealing with a lottery licence in the sense of this entry.
Not every prize draw needs one, either. Section 93 of the 2024 Act lets a business run a promotional draw without a lottery licence where the only entry cost is buying the product, the total winnings do not exceed €5,000, there is no extra charge to collect a prize and the winnings are paid within six months; the Authority may prescribe a higher ceiling.
What I check first on any online draw is who actually holds the licence.
What a lottery licence is often confused with
The most common confusion is with betting on lottery results. Some bookmakers take bets on the outcome of foreign lottery draws, and that is a betting product carried on under a betting licence, not a lottery licence, even when the page looks like a lottery ticket.
A foreign licence is the second trap. A lottery-style product offered online by a company holding a licence from the Malta Gaming Authority, Kahnawake or Curaçao is supervised by that regulator, under its rules and its complaints route, and that does not give an Irish player the protections an Irish lottery licence carries. The 2024 Act is built on the principle that an operator serving Irish customers needs an Irish licence regardless of where else it holds one, but that obligation bites only once the relevant sections are commenced.
The third is the Garda permit under the 1956 Act, which covers smaller lotteries and is granted by a superintendent rather than a judge.
Until the GRAI’s lottery licensing provisions are commenced, the District Court route remains the one that applies, and you should look for the issuing court or authority named on the ticket or the terms before treating any draw as licensed.
