27 May 2021
By Roger Jones
roger@TheCork.ie
Entertainment – Current situation | New laws and what they mean | prediction for the Ireland gambling market
Overview of online gambling in Ireland
In recent years the Betting (Amendment) Act came into place, changing the game and allowing Irish gamblers to enjoy gambling sites without any severe restrictions. Since then, everyone in the region was permitted to partake in Online poker games, Sports casinos, and other forms of internet wagering.
Recently, however, some new online gambling laws came into place, disappointing and angering online gambling fans. The Lotteries (Amendment) Act 2019 became a part of regulations a little later in the year 2020. Why are players angry? Being that many gamblers pushed on the legalisation of online casinos until 2015, it’s understandable if the new laws infringed on their freedom to bet and lose as they please.
New gambling laws in Ireland
Although this doesn’t directly affect online casino players, the new Ireland gambling laws are making it more challenging for casino sites to become legalised and established. There are far more requirements, which may very well contribute to lesser available funds and cuts on player privileges on gambling sites. For one, a license has become quite costly since the bill came into place, requiring operators to pay a hefty sum of €5,000 – and that’s excluding all other expenses that go into launching a casino site.
Gambling is a risk, and some love the thrill of betting high on casino games. If you’re an Irish player, you can forget about it – for now, at least. Before you were able to bet anywhere from €0.10 – €150 at certain slots. And as you can imagine, betting such considerable amounts means business when you do win big. Unfortunately, now the maximum bet limit is €5. That would be bearable, if only the allowed maximum winning amount wasn’t capped at €500. For players who are responsible with their funds, it’s an unfortunate limitation that takes spice out of the gambling experience. On the contrary, this may be a positive change, preventing gambling addictions to some extent.
Are you a fan of lotteries? Great – so are the 2+ million people in Ireland. And when one buys a lottery ticket, there are always hopes for massive winnings. There is now a harsh limitation on lottery winnings, and since 2020, the maximum weekly payout for lotteries was limited to €30,000 per week. For comparison, one lucky duck won the biggest lottery jackpot of €18.9 million back in 2008. You certainly won’t be seeing anything like that anytime soon. One positive in this change is that 25% are now to be donated to a greater cause. What does that mean for players? The maximum amount you will be able to land is €2,500 on most lottery prizes. And as for operators, there’s now a greater challenge in obtaining a license due to various shifts in regulations.
Each country has gambling age laws, and Ireland was rather lenient, allowing players partake in online casino activities as long as they were 16 or older. The recent regulation changes now made gambling illegal for anyone under 18. Perhaps there’s nothing too terrible about this particular adjustment – especially considering the number of addictions related to online betting among young persons.
Advantages and disadvantages of new gambling regulations in Ireland
It’s no secret that players in Ireland were unhappy with the laws that were recently set into place, and operators are no less upset with the changes. The online casino sector is vast, and both parties gain quite some advantages from freedom in this regard.
Tough licensing conditions for online casino operators
Launching an online casino is tough work, and can become quite costly. So as far as the new requirements for licensing go, they could aid in eliminating operators that don’t mean serious business. The gaming permit is also quite confusing now that there are no concise rules for operators in regards to obtaining it, and which games it could cover. Until that particular aspect clears up, there aren’t too many positives, as this situation can cause some problems in terms of winning limits and player requirements.
New gambling age
Did you know that a human brain doesn’t fully develop until the age of 25? Not to say that individuals younger than that cannot make important life decisions, but gambling isn’t something any individual who’s under 18 years old should partake in anyway. Many people can agree with this statement, except for those who are underage, of course. Changing the age laws for online gambling should be considered a positive move, as there are already thousands of cases of crime reported related to young individuals committing crimes due to gambling addiction. Besides, many countries and online casinos won’t let you gamble unless you’re at least 21.
Betting limits
It’s easy to get lost in the sauce and gamble away your whole deposit. But not everyone goes into la-la-land when enjoying casino games. For that reason, many players are unsettled by this new adjustment. But looking at the whole picture, the new wager regulations can actually mend the growing number of gambling addicts. Even with the new laws, there are millions being spend on mere online casino bets, and the loss of money contributes to crime activity, depression, poverty, broken families, and even suicide. Perhaps it wouldn’t be the worst thing to give up this pleasure for a greater cause.
Additionally
If you’re planning on gambling online, make sure you find a legal casino for Irish players that is abiding by the new laws and regulations. Casinority will help you get there in a matter of minutes by providing you with dozens of reputable Irish online casinos that have already been reviewed, and deemed worthy of recommendations.
