IrelandGambling Regulation Act 2024, Advertising by Electronic Communication and on Social Media and Video-Sharing Platforms (Sections 146 and 147)
Gambling Regulation Act 2024 (No. 35 of 2024), ss. 146-147
A commercial messages rule binding private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Consent, Data subject rights
As of .
What it requires
- If you hold a gambling licence under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024, do not advertise relevant content, or cause a person to advertise it on your behalf, by electronic communication (including by telephone, text message or e-mail) unless the intended recipient has consented to receiving advertising from you by that electronic communication.
- Provide, in the service, an easily accessible mechanism that lets the recipient stop receiving advertising from you by that electronic communication, and comply with any applicable regulations made under section 144 of the Act.
- A logo, trademark, emblem or marketing image of yours displayed at a sporting event, or details of your sponsorship of a sporting event, that is visible or audible as part of the content shown to the recipient does not breach the consent and opt-out rule.
- The consent and opt-out rule does not apply to advertising by a licensee of a gambling licence for a charitable or philanthropic purpose that includes neither the name or trading name of a licensee of a Business to Consumer gambling licence or a Business to Business gambling licensee nor its logo, trademark, emblem or marketing image.
- Do not enter into an arrangement with another person to advertise relevant content on a social media service or a video-sharing platform service unless its terms ensure that the advertising is provided only to a recipient who has an account with that person and has subscribed to your account on that service, and in accordance with the applicable regulations.
If you get it wrong
Penalty structure
Section 206(1) of the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 limits a financial penalty imposed as an administrative sanction on a licensee to EUR 20,000,000 or, if greater, 10 per cent of the licensee's turnover in the financial year preceding the decision as to contravention or in any year in which the acts occasioning the sanction occurred. Sections 146 and 147 impose obligations on a licensee, which the Act's definition of relevant obligation reaches.
- Rule
- Higher of
- As of
- Currency
- EUR
- Fixed cap
- 20,000,000
- Turnover percentage cap
- 10
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (Údarás Rialála Cearrbhachais na hÉireann), which under section 190 may enter into an agreement with a licensee, proceed by notice of non-compliance or carry out a directed investigation where it is of the opinion that a licensee has contravened a relevant obligation.
What this law does
Section 147(1) provides that a licensee shall not advertise relevant content, or cause a person to advertise relevant content on the licensee's behalf, by electronic communication to another person unless the intended recipient has given consent to receiving advertising from the licensee by means of that electronic communication, the service provides an easily accessible mechanism to enable the recipient to stop receiving such advertising from the licensee, and the licensee complies with any applicable regulations.
Section 147(4) defines electronic communication as any electronic communication (including by telephone, text message or e-mail) other than an audiovisual on-demand media service, an on-demand sound service, a social media service, a video-sharing platform service or a broadcasting service.
Section 147(2) provides that a licensee shall not be taken to have contravened subsection (1) where, as part of the content shown to an intended recipient by an electronic communication, a logo, trademark, emblem or marketing image of the licensee displayed at a sporting event is visible, or details of the sponsorship by the licensee of a sporting event are visible or audible.
Section 147(3) provides that subsection (1) shall not apply to advertising by electronic communication by a licensee of a gambling licence for a charitable or philanthropic purpose provided that the advertising does not include the name or trading name, or the logo, trademark, emblem or marketing image, of a licensee of a Business to Consumer gambling licence or a Business to Business gambling licensee.
Section 146(1) provides, subject to subsection (2) and section 149, that a licensee shall not enter into an arrangement with another person for the purposes of advertising relevant content to a third party on a social media service or a video-sharing platform service unless the terms of the arrangement ensure the advertising is provided only to an intended recipient who has an account with that other person and has subscribed to the licensee's account on that service, and in accordance with the applicable regulations.
Section 146(2) disapplies subsection (1) for an arrangement entered into by a licensee of a gambling licence for a charitable or philanthropic purpose where the arrangement ensures that the advertising does not include the name or trading name, or the logo, trademark, emblem or marketing image, of a licensee of a Business to Consumer gambling licence or a Business to Business gambling licensee.
Relevant content means, in relation to advertising, a relevant gambling activity or, in the case of a Business to Consumer gambling licence, the licensee of that gambling licence. A licensee is a person who is the holder of a gambling licence which is, for the time being, in force. A relevant obligation includes an obligation, however described, imposed on a licensee under the Act or any regulations made under it.
Section 206(1) provides that the financial penalty imposed as an administrative sanction on a licensee shall not exceed €20,000,000 or, if greater, 10 per cent of the turnover of the licensee in the financial year preceding the date of the decision as to contravention or in any year in which the acts occasioning the sanction occurred.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app sends automated outreach.