Labour Leader Calls For Ban On Gambling Advertisements In Ireland

The party leader made the comments to the Sunday Independent after seeing a branch of Boylesports in Dublin run an advertisement encouraging customers to open an account without the need for a bank account.

The gambling sector has come under increased scrutiny in Ireland over the last few years, with the country establishing the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) in March to bring some governance to the industry. And Bacik feels that the next step is to enforce a total ban on gambling advertising in the country, to help tackle problem gambling.

Several European nations have banned gambling advertisements over the last few years, including Italy, Belgium and Poland, while there are tight regulations in a host of other countries around the continent, including Spain, Germany and Sweden.

New regulations are due to come into effect in 2026 through the Irish Gambling Regulation Act 2024, which will see a watershed preventing the broadcast of all gambling ads on television, radio and on-demand services between 5.30am and 9pm.

With the GRAI set to come into full effect over the next couple of years, it will be interesting to see how the iGaming sector is managed in Ireland from a regulatory perspective as operators continue to adapt to a fast-moving situation.