Gambling regulator sets mandatory records and accounts rules for all licensees

The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland has made S.I. No. 513 of 2026, the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 (Records and Accounts) Regulations 2026, setting out the records and accounts that licensees shall keep and maintain. The instrument was published in Iris Oifigiúil No. 82 of Tuesday, 13 October 2026, in Section I. It places a direct and general compliance obligation on every holder of a gambling licence in the State.

The regulations are made by Údarás Rialála Cearrbhachais na hÉireann, the Irish-language title of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by sections 9 and 152 of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 (No. 35 of 2024). Section 152 is the provision under which the Authority may prescribe the books, records and accounts to be kept by licensees, while section 9 supplies its general regulation-making power. The instrument is therefore secondary legislation made by the regulator itself, not by a Minister.

What the instrument does

The Regulations set out the records and accounts licensees shall keep and maintain. The published notice states the purpose of the instrument directly: it is made “setting out the records and accounts licensees shall keep and maintain.”

• Instrument: S.I. No. 513 of 2026 — Gambling Regulation Act 2024 (Records and Accounts) Regulations 2026.
• Maker: the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (Údarás Rialála Cearrbhachais na hÉireann).
• Legal basis: sections 9 and 152 of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 (No. 35 of 2024).
• Scope: all licensees, who must keep and maintain the prescribed records and accounts.
• Publication: Iris Oifigiúil, No. 82, 13 October 2026, Section I.

Part of a widening compliance framework

The records rules arrive in the middle of a sustained run of gambling instruments issued by the same Authority. On 18 September 2026, Iris Oifigiúil No. 75 carried S.I. No. 477 of 2026, the Gambling (Opening Hours and Use of Premises) Regulations 2026, made under sections 9 and 176 of the Act of 2024, which addresses excessive or compulsive gambling and the sale of alcohol on gambling premises.

Four days later, Iris Oifigiúil No. 76 of 22 September 2026 carried three further instruments made by the Authority under sections 9 and 38 of the Act of 2024, each with the consent of the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration:

• S.I. No. 480 of 2026 — Gambling (Addition of Premises) Regulations 2026, prescribing the fee for applications by in-person gambling licensees to provide a relevant gambling activity from premises not specified in their licence.
• S.I. No. 481 of 2026 — Gambling (Licence Variation) Regulations 2026, prescribing the fees payable for applications to vary a betting licence under section 117(3) of the Act of 2024.
• S.I. No. 482 of 2026 — Gambling (Appeal Fees) Regulations 2026, prescribing the fees payable for bringing an appeal under Part 9 of the Act of 2024 against certain decisions of the Authority.

Taken together, the sequence shows the Authority moving from premises, hours and fee-setting into the internal bookkeeping of licensed operators.

Availability of the text

Copies of S.I. No. 513 of 2026 may be purchased from Government Publications, Mountshannon Road, Kilmainham, Dublin, D08 XA06, by telephone on 046 942 3100 or by email at publications@opw.ie. The price of the instrument is €3.00.

The same issue of Iris Oifigiúil also carries S.I. No. 514 of 2026, the European Union (Restrictive Measures concerning Ukraine) (No.13) Regulations 2026, and S.I. No. 515 of 2026, the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act 2005 (Section 42) (Restrictive Measures concerning Certain Persons and Entities associated with the ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Organisations) (No. 8) Regulations 2026, both made by the Minister for Finance.

Why it matters

For licensed bookmakers, betting intermediaries, casino and in-person operators, and remote gambling licensees, the Regulations convert record-keeping from an internal accounting preference into a prescribed statutory duty, enforceable by the regulator that supervises their licence. Operators should obtain the text of S.I. No. 513 of 2026 and align their books, ledgers and retention practices with the records and accounts the Authority now requires them to keep and maintain.

Source: Iris Oifigiúil, No. 82 of 13 October 2026, Section I (official reference: S.I. No. 513 of 2026).