Gambling regulator says it has tackled dozens of black market operators since July
The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) has acted against dozens of unlicensed operators since its remote betting licences took effect in July, according to its chief executive, Anne Marie Caulfield. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, she said the businesses involved ranged from small Irish bookmakers to major online operators and the two largest prediction markets in the world. She did not name any of them. Most, she indicated, stopped trading in Ireland after an initial cease and desist warning, and the regulator has not yet needed to bring a case before the High Court.
What the GRAI chief executive told reporters
Caulfield’s account, first reported by The Irish Times, was the regulator’s own summary of its enforcement work since remote betting and betting intermediary licences commenced on 1 July 2026. “They ranged from small Irish bookmakers to major online operators to the two largest prediction markets in the world,” she said.
No individual business was named.
The detail that matters most for how the regime is working sits in a short remark, “We have not been to the High Court,” which, read alongside her indication that most unlicensed operators halted after receiving a first warning letter, suggests the GRAI has so far relied on the lowest rung of its enforcement ladder rather than on the court orders that the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 also makes available to it. That ladder runs from cease and desist letters up to High Court action.
Why unlicensed betting sites are the target
Caulfield pointed out that many black market operators ignore the safeguards that apply to businesses holding a GRAI licence, including the ban on credit card use and the requirement to carry out age checks. Those obligations came in with the 2024 Act, and they bind only operators licensed by the GRAI itself.
A licence issued in Malta, Curaçao or elsewhere does not bring a betting site under those Irish rules, and the GRAI states that providing a betting activity in Ireland without its licence is a criminal offence carrying a penalty of up to eight years’ imprisonment. The regulator also warns that consumers using unlicensed sites cannot rely on protections such as the obligation to pay out winnings or to close an account on request.
If you bet online from Ireland, the GRAI’s own register is the place to confirm which licence a site actually holds.
Complaints from punters and licences issued
The authority has also begun fielding complaints from punters through its consumer protection division, and Caulfield said many relate to difficulty getting money out of online bookmakers. The Act requires licensees to respond promptly to customers’ requests for payment and to requests to close accounts.
Separately, TheJournal.ie reported that the GRAI has issued 41 licences since remote licensing began in July, covering 98% of the online betting market.
Licences for gaming, lotteries, B2B suppliers and charitable activity are due to open for application on a phased basis through 2027 and 2028, and until those categories commence, online casino products sit outside the GRAI licensing that now governs remote betting.
