The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) looks to appoint seven members
By Lucy Wynne
The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) has opened applications for Chair and six other vacancies.
The GRAI is the new statutory body which will be responsible for overseeing all licensing and regulatory matters related to gambling in Ireland. They will monitor both land-based and online gambling.
The recruitment process is the latest development with the GRAI, after President Micheal D Higgins recently signed The Gambling Regulation Act into law on 23 October 2024.
The applications can be accessed through publicjobs, the centralised provider of recruitment, assessment and selection services across the Civil and Public Service in Ireland and the closing date is 15 November, 2024.
Once the members are appointed, the GRAI can begin to establish a new national licensing framework and a self-exclusion register.
This will make it illegal for gambling companies to target individuals who have opted out of gambling through marketing or other means, with fines up to €20m (£16.8m) or 10% of the company’s turnover.
A social fund will also be created to tackle gambling-related harm and support responsible gambling in turn. Gambling businesses operating in Ireland will be expected to contribute towards this. The GRAI is actively recruiting for a manager of this fund.
Anne Marie Caulfield has already been appointed as the Chief Executive Designate. She has eight years of experience in the Department of Public Expenditure & Reform, which assesses and reviews the work of Government departments and offices.
James Browne, Minister of State with responsibility for Law Reform, said: “This is an incredibly important piece of work from a social perspective, and will make a real difference in preventing harm to people from problem gambling, but also ensuring that modern and effective licensing and regulatory measures are in place for the industry.”
The GRAI has had a long journey so far, being announced as far back as 2022.
It was initially part of the Gambling Regulation Bill 2022 and €161,000 was spent that year to establish the foundations of the authority. €1.63m was spent in 2023 and a further €9.1m was set aside this year, with €4m spent on dedicated technological infrastructure.
Browne continued: “Once established, it will have significant enforcement powers to enable it to take appropriate and focused action where providers are failing to comply with the provisions of the Authority’s licensing terms, conditions and regulations.”
The latest article on the Government’s website has confirmed that the GRAI will ensure that gambling within Ireland is regulated, while establishing safeguards around problem gambling and advertising.
The authority will not regulate the National Lottery, handle individual customer disputes or regulate any lottery fundraising conducted by political parties.