Anne Marie Caulfield, the Chief Executive Officer of GRAI (Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland), said that the regulator welcomed the plans of two major Irish banks to integrate a voluntary block feature of gambling-related credit and debit card transactions.
More specifically, the GRAI praises EBS and Allied Irish Bank’s agreement to introduce advanced blocking features aimed at blocking all transactions made by debit and credit cards related to online gambling.
Caulfield said that by “engaging with the Banking Payments Foundation”, the regulator hopes to encourage other Irish financial institutions to follow their example and introduce similar protection measures.
We are engaging with the Banking Payments Federation of Ireland and directly with pillar banks to encourage other financial institutions to introduce this valuable consumer protection measure.
From here, the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland will also be responsible for providing supervision for the Irish market, and as such, will be authorized to use certain powers to impose fines of up to 10% GGR.
As part of this oversight work, the GRAI announced back in November that it started the process of searching to hire qualified individuals who will be part of its seven-member board.
For this matter, Caulfield commented:
I have been leading a programme team working on establishing the structures that will enable us to be an effective, fit-for-purpose, independent statutory regulator on our establishment.
Some of the preparations made by the GRAI include rendering contracts in communications, finance, IT, and HR, as well as providing corporate governance, staff training, and anti-money laundering.
Moreover, Caulfield said that the regulator has also been involved in development work in its operational financial and licensing models to ensure that the GRAI is on the fast track to become self-funding.
Caulfield also stressed the importance of creating a licensing regime for operators, which is why the regulator’s licensing team has been having direct engagement with industry bodies and other regulators regarding this process.
Recently we issued a call to gambling and gaming companies who are currently operating in Ireland, or who expect to do so in the future to register their interest in applying for an operating licence. This will help us to determine the level of applications we can expect once the new licensing regime opens in 2025. Codes of Conduct are also being developed for the sector.
