Betting Act 1931
The Betting Act 1931 is the Irish statute that, for close to a century, set the rules for licensing bookmakers, making it an offence under section 2 to carry on business as a bookmaker without a current bookmaker’s licence. It also governed certificates of personal fitness under sections 4 and 5 and the registration of betting offices under section 12. Its licences were issued by the Revenue Commissioners, not by a dedicated gambling regulator.
How the 1931 Act was extended online
The original text dealt with shops and on-course bookmakers, so the Betting (Amendment) Act 2015, signed into law on 15 March 2015, extended it to anyone taking bets from people in the State by remote means.
That amendment created the remote bookmaker’s licence under section 7B and the remote betting intermediary’s licence under section 7C, both issued by Revenue. Acting as a bookmaker without a licence carried a fine of up to €5,000 on summary conviction under the amended section 2.
Neither licence ever covered casino games.
The Betting Act 1931 and the 2024 Act
The Gambling Regulation Act 2024 lists the Betting Act 1931 among the statutes it repeals, and sections 236 to 245 carry over licences, certificates and registers granted under it.
Revenue states that the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland has been the licensing authority for all betting licences since 5 February 2026, and trade reporting ties the repeal to the commencement order taking effect that day. What you should check on a betting site is whose name sits on the licence: a Revenue licence under the old Act, a GRAI licence, or a foreign one from Malta or Curaçao, which gives no Irish protection at all.
