GRAI Launches Underage Gambling Campaign Urging Irish Parents to Spot the Warning Signs

The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) launched a national awareness campaign on Monday 14 July 2026 urging parents and guardians to recognise and respond to underage gambling. The campaign leans on research from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), commissioned by GRAI, which found that 64 percent of surveyed adults had gambled before the age of 18 and that betting as a minor raises the likelihood of later gambling problems by 83 to 87 percent.

The push is the regulator's first major public health intervention and arrives barely two weeks after GRAI began issuing remote betting licences, formally bringing Ireland's online operators under statutory oversight for the first time. The message to parents is direct: online gambling is available around the clock, the warning signs are easy to miss, and adults at home are the first line of defence.

What is the GRAI underage gambling campaign?

It is a national awareness campaign aimed at parents and guardians, launched by GRAI on 14 July 2026, that asks adults to learn the early signs of underage gambling and to start conversations with children about the risks. Rather than target young people directly, the regulator has framed the household as the key setting for prevention, running the message across video-on-demand platforms, radio, digital audio networks and social media so it reaches parents where they already spend time.

Why is Ireland targeting parents now?

GRAI is acting now because the regulator has only just gained the enforcement powers to police the market and wants prevention to move in step with licensing. Ireland spent years without a dedicated gambling regulator, and the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 created GRAI to close that gap. With remote licences now being issued and advertising, sponsorship and product rules coming into force, the authority is pairing hard regulation of operators with a softer public education effort aimed at the home.

What are the key facts?

• 64 percent of surveyed adults reported gambling before the age of 18, according to ESRI research commissioned by GRAI.
• Betting as a minor is associated with an 83 to 87 percent higher likelihood of developing gambling problems later in life (ESRI, 2026).
• Children who gamble are roughly twice as likely to develop gambling-related problems than those who do not, the GRAI-commissioned research found.
• People with a parent who gambles are around 80 percent more likely to experience gambling problems themselves (ESRI).
• The campaign launched on 14 July 2026, about two weeks after GRAI began issuing remote betting licences.

What warning signs should parents look for?

GRAI is telling parents to watch for behavioural shifts rather than obvious money trouble. The regulator highlights mood swings, increased secrecy around money and other changes in behaviour as early indicators that a young person may be gambling. Because online play leaves little physical trace, the authority stresses that these behavioural cues often surface before any financial evidence does, which is why it wants parents watching for them early.

What does the ESRI research show?

The ESRI research commissioned by GRAI frames underage exposure as a lifelong risk factor rather than a passing phase. The finding that 64 percent of adults gambled before 18 suggests early exposure is close to a cultural norm in Ireland, while the 83 to 87 percent increase in the likelihood of later problems ties that early exposure directly to future harm. The intergenerational element is stark: with people who have a gambling parent around 80 percent more likely to struggle themselves, the campaign's household focus is grounded in the data.

ESRI finding (GRAI-commissioned)	What it means
64% gambled before age 18	Early exposure is widespread among Irish adults
83% to 87% higher risk of later problems	Underage betting is a strong predictor of future harm
Roughly 2x more likely to develop problems	Children who gamble face double the risk of adults
80% higher risk with a gambling parent	Harm passes down through the household

How do loot boxes fit into the campaign?

GRAI has explicitly named loot boxes and other randomised reward mechanisms in video games as an overlooked entry point to gambling behaviour. Many parents do not view in-game purchases as gambling, yet the mechanics of paying for a randomised reward mirror the structure of a slot spin. By flagging these features alongside traditional betting, the regulator is signalling that its definition of gambling risk for young people extends into mainstream gaming, a debate that has been running across Europe for several years.

What does the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 say about underage play?

The Gambling Regulation Act 2024 is the law that underpins the campaign and gives GRAI its teeth. The Act introduced penalties for permitting underage gambling and handed the authority broad enforcement powers over operators, advertising and product design. It replaced a fragmented system that had left online gambling in Ireland effectively unsupervised, and it is the legal foundation on which the current licensing rollout and this awareness drive both sit.

How does this connect to Ireland's new licensing regime?

The campaign is deliberately timed to the opening of Ireland's licensing regime. Operator licence applications opened on 9 February 2026, and GRAI began issuing remote betting licences in early July, bringing online bookmakers under statutory control for the first time. Sequencing the awareness campaign immediately after that milestone lets the regulator argue it is protecting players and educating families at the same moment it starts formally authorising the industry.

Where will the campaign appear?

The campaign is running across video-on-demand services, radio, digital audio networks and social media. That media mix is aimed squarely at parents rather than teenagers, reaching adults through the streaming, listening and social platforms they use most, and reflects a public health style of communication rather than a compliance notice buried in operator terms and conditions.

How does Ireland compare with the UK on gambling harm?

Ireland is moving to a supervised model years after neighbouring markets, and it can point to UK data on the scale of affected-others harm. The Gambling Commission reported that nearly one in eleven adults in Great Britain experienced harm from someone else's gambling in 2024, underlining that the damage extends well beyond the individual gambler. Ireland's household-focused campaign is, in effect, an attempt to get ahead of that affected-others harm as its regulated online market takes shape.

What has GRAI said?

GRAI chief executive Anne Marie Caulfield has put children's exposure at the centre of the campaign's rationale.

"Children and young people are among the most at-risk members of Irish society when it comes to gambling exposure and harm. With online gambling available at any time of the day, it is easy for the warning signs to be hidden," said Anne Marie Caulfield, chief executive of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland.

What does it mean for operators?

For licensed operators the campaign is a signal that GRAI intends to enforce age controls as a headline priority. With the Act carrying penalties for permitting underage gambling and the regulator now issuing and, in principle, able to revoke licences, age verification, marketing restrictions and product safeguards are moving from best practice to legal exposure. Operators entering the newly regulated Irish market will be doing so under a regulator that has chosen underage protection as its opening public message.

What happens next?

Expect GRAI to build out its rulebook on advertising, sponsorship and safer gambling tools while it continues processing licence applications through 2026. The underage campaign is likely the first of several public-facing interventions as the authority establishes itself, and its effectiveness will eventually be measured against the same ESRI benchmarks that justified it. For now, the regulator has made clear that protecting young people is where it wants its new powers to be seen working first.

Frequently asked questions

Who launched the underage gambling campaign in Ireland?

The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) launched the campaign on 14 July 2026. GRAI is the statutory regulator created under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024.

What statistic is at the centre of the campaign?

ESRI research commissioned by GRAI found that 64 percent of surveyed adults had gambled before the age of 18, and that underage betting is linked to an 83 to 87 percent higher likelihood of later gambling problems.

What warning signs should parents watch for?

GRAI points to mood swings, increased secrecy around money and other behavioural changes, noting that online gambling can hide the usual financial signs.

Are video game loot boxes part of the campaign?

Yes. GRAI has named loot boxes and other randomised reward mechanisms in games as an overlooked gambling risk for young people.

When did Ireland start licensing online gambling?

Operator licence applications opened on 9 February 2026, and GRAI began issuing remote betting licences in early July 2026.

Updated July 2026. Sources: Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), and iGaming Business.