Ireland's Online Poker Future Hangs in the Balance as New Regulations Loom

Ireland's new gambling regulations, set to take effect under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024, pose significant challenges for the online poker community. The act sets a maximum stake of €10 and maximum winnings of €3,000 for a “relevant game,” which could severely impact cash games and tournaments offered to players in Ireland. However, the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) has the power to treat poker differently from other forms of online gaming.

David Lyons, a veteran online gaming executive and former PokerStars and Global Poker executive, recently made a submission to the GRAI raising concerns about how the country’s new regulatory framework could affect online poker. Lyons highlighted that Section 83 of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 allows the GRAI, with the consent of the Minister, to vary the maximum stake, maximum winnings, or both. This provision gives the regulator considerable room to act and mitigate the potential negative impacts on online poker.

Despite this power, the GRAI has only just begun the first phase of licensing under Ireland’s new regulatory system, with gaming licenses, which would encompass online poker, still to come. Lyons believes that casino games and poker are fundamentally different economic animals, with one being you-versus-the-house and the other you-versus-the-table. He pointed to the UK as an example where fixed stake and prize tables apply to gaming machines rather than peer-to-peer poker, suggesting that a similar approach could be taken in Ireland.