Ireland sets 1% turnover levy for gambling Social Impact Fund in draft notified to EU

Ireland has set the contribution that gambling licensees must pay into its new Social Impact Fund at 1% of turnover, according to draft regulations notified to the European Commission on November 12. The fund, created by the Gambling Regulation Act 2024, will pay for research, education, awareness and treatment for gambling-related harm.

Under the draft text, every licensee except holders of charitable or philanthropic licences pays 1% of its turnover in the financial year before the year the contribution covers. Payment is due by July 1 each year, by bank or electronic transfer to an account named by the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) in a contribution notice. The regulations would come into operation on April 1, 2027.

The 2024 Act defines turnover differently by licence type. For most licensees it is income from gambling activities less winnings paid out. For business-to-business licensees it is gross profit on gambling products and services, and for remote betting intermediaries it is the charges paid to them for providing the betting facility.

In the notification, the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration says the rate was agreed with the GRAI and the Office of the Attorney General, and that the GRAI "is in a position to operationalise the Social Impact Fund in 2027." The EU standstill period, during which the Commission and other member states can comment, runs to February 15, 2027.

On November 3, the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration told the Dáil, in a written answer, that the details of the regulations were "still under consideration" and that no Exchequer funding would go into the fund.

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