What the new gambling law means for your club lottery
Almost every GAA club in the county runs one.
So do the parish committees, the tidy towns groups, the schools and half the charities fundraising off the back of a climb up the Reek.
The Gambling Regulation Act 2024 has changed the rules that govern all of it, and the changes are arriving in stages rather than all at once.
For anyone selling tickets in Castlebar, Ballina or Belmullet this month, here is where things actually stand.
Nothing Has Changed Yet
The headline point first. The new charitable and philanthropic licence is not open for applications, and the regulator has indicated it is not expected to open during 2026.
Until it does, clubs and charities continue under the existing permit system, which runs on the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956 as amended in 2019. Nothing about a club lottery needs redoing this week.
That existing system has two main routes. A Garda permit covers smaller draws, while a District Court lottery licence covers larger ones with total prizes up to €30,000 a week and can run for up to a year.
Why the Sequence Looks Odd
Commercial operators went first, which has confused a few club treasurers. The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland began processing applications in February and issued its first licences to online betting operators on July 1.
Remote gaming, the formal term covering an online casino offering, transitions across during 2026 and 2027. Charitable licensing sits behind both of those in the queue, which is why a multinational bookmaker is now licensed here while a club draw in Kiltimagh is still working off a permit written under a 1956 Act.
The regulator has said it will communicate arrangements well ahead of time when the charitable licence does open. There is no advantage in trying to get ahead of it.
What Will Change When It Arrives
Three numbers are worth writing down now. A charitable lottery licence will cap prizes at 30,000 euro per week and 3,000 euro per individual game, with a ceiling of 360,000 euro for a once off activity.
The requirement likely to catch people out is the 30 per cent rule. At least 30 per cent of the money taken in must go to the stated charitable or philanthropic purpose, which means clubs running prize heavy draws will need to look carefully at their margins.
Two long standing rules continue unchanged. Nobody may profit personally from a charitable lottery, and participants must be 18 or over, which applies to a parish raffle exactly as it does to anything else.
The Advertising Rule
This is the provision that generated most concern when the legislation was going through. As drafted, promotion of gambling activity is restricted to a defined overnight window, with a watershed operating from 9 p.m.
Club lotteries and county draws were understood to fall within scope, which would affect how and when a draw can be promoted online. The advertising provisions are among those still being commenced, so the practical detail is not yet settled.
Worth keeping an eye on rather than acting on. Competitions that are free to enter or that turn on genuine skill, including answering a question, sit outside the licensing regime altogether, which is a route some fundraisers may find simpler.
What to Do This Season
Carry on. Renew the existing permit or District Court licence as normal, keep proper records of ticket sales and how the proceeds were applied, and run the draw exactly as advertised.
The regulator publishes guidance on charitable licences and updates it as each stage commences, which is a more reliable source than the version going around the clubhouse.