Is Gambling Illegal In Northern Ireland
The UK is made up of made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, so there are actually man hotspots to visit outside of most people’s first choice of London, ie Edinburgh and Belfast are both worthy gambling destinations. That said, we’ll admit that all of our favorites are in fact found in the capital! While the United Kingdom encompasses Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, those countries and regions have their own individual laws and regulations pertaining to the gambling market and those can be found using our global gambling laws directory found on our global gaming laws homepage.
The recent news that County Down GAA club Mayobridge GAC had to cancel their raffle for a new house should be of concern to many GAA clubs and other sporting or community organisations who regularly hold these types of draws as much needed fundraisers.
- The rules in Northern Ireland have been disconnected from the rest of the UK ever since, and, significantly, the Gambling Commission's remit does not extend to Northern Ireland. The Department for Communities carried out a consultation on gambling laws between last December 2019 and February 2020.
- A Gambling Prevalence Survey carried out in 2009 found that the rate of problem gambling in Northern Ireland is three times higher than in the rest of the UK, and conscious of this, the Minister has stated that new law will retain the current ban on casinos and contain a section protecting the young and vulnerable.
It has been reported that the draw was cancelled following a small number of complaints to the police, who subsequently advised the organisers that their raffle may be in breach of our gambling legislation and they could be liable to criminal convictions if they continued with it.
At present, gambling in Northern Ireland (other than the National Lottery) is regulated by the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (NI) Order 1985 (“the 1985 Order”) as amended by the Betting and Lotteries (NI) Order 1994. The 1985 Order is itself based on old GB law from the 1960s which has subsequently been repealed and replaced by the Gambling Act 2005. Northern Ireland is yet to follow suit with its own updated version and with the doors of Stormont closed, no changes will be made anytime soon. The current laws have been described as complex, framed in antiquated style which makes it difficult to understand, and may not address the changing world of gambling.
Under our current legislation, it is unlawful to conduct in Northern Ireland any competition which offers prizes, where success does not depend to a substantial degree on the exercise of skill. There are certain strict exemptions to this and all prize draws or lotteries are illegal unless they are;
1.Small lotteries at exempt entertainments (e.g. a fete, bazaar, gala dinner, sporting event or similar event)
2.Private lotteries (where the sale of tickets or chances in confined to members of a society (not established for gaming purposes) or to people who either live or work in the same premises)
3.Societies’ lotteries (a lottery promoted by a society established for charitable, sporting, cultural etc purpose) but subject to very strict conditions.
The typical lottery or raffle organised by numerous groups across the country does not comply with any of the above exceptions and in reality, if groups did strictly comply with the legislation, they would never raise the level of money they aim to achieve with these draws.
You may ask why this draw in particular has been stopped when so many others have passed without issue over the years? I suspect that without any complaints being raised, police have no reason to look into such draws (or no interest) and it is only because complaints have been raised in this case that they have been duty-bound to investigate and have advised the organisers to cancel it to avoid risking prosecution.
The fact is that our gambling laws are outdated and simply do not cater for the many ideas and types of raffle, draw or event that are now quite prevalent. While all organisers should be aware of the restrictions in the legislation and the possibility of breaking the law, I imagine we have not yet seen the last of the knock on door by the volunteer ticket seller.
The Gambling Control Bill was approved by Government in July 2013. This Bill will, upon enactment, repeal all extant gaming and betting legislation, with the exception of that governing the National Lottery.
The General Scheme of the Bill is with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Government (OPC) awaiting drafting.
Betting Act 1931
The Betting (Amendment) Act 2015 was commenced on 15th April 2015. This legislation amends the Betting Act 1931 and provides for the licensing of remote (on-line) bookmakers and betting intermediaries for the first time.
Applications for certificates of personal fitness from remote operators, and terrestrial bookmakers not ordinarily resident in the State, are to be made to the Minister for Justice, following the placement of an advertisement in two daily, national newspapers. The advertisement and the application form are to be in a specified format. You can access these at the link below:
Terrestrial out of State Operators
Remote Operators
Applications for certificates of personal fitness from terrestrial bookmakers ordinarily resident in the State are to be made to a Superintendent of An Garda Síochána. The newspaper advertisement and application form for such operators can be accessed at the following link
Terrestrial Irish Operators
The application form in all instances details the information that is to be submitted in support of an application. It should be noted that an application will not be considered until such time as all such information has been received.
'relevant officer' of a corporate body is defined in section 1 of the 1931 Act as amended by section 2 of the 2015 Act. The first category of person who must apply for a certificate of personal fitness is he or she who exercises control (within the meaning of section 11 or 432 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997) in relation to the corporate body. In addition to such persons, corporate bodies may choose that an individual in either the second or third category of person as defined in section 1 applies for a certificate of personal fitness. The legislation does not require all three categories of person to be deemed a 'relevant officer'.
Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956
The Gaming and Lotteries Acts 1956–2003 allow some limited forms of gambling. This is in order to provide a controlled outlet for people who wish to gamble. It also provides a method of fund-raising for charitable, philanthropic and other socially desirable purposes.
The forms of gambling permitted under the 1956 Act are:
- Lotteries (excluding lotteries covered by the National Lottery Act 2013, which is under the auspices of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform)
- A very limited form of gaming ('gaming' means playing a game (either of skill or chance) for money.)
For more information on gaming and lotteries, see the Review of the Gaming and Lotteries Acts 1956-86 A copy of the 1956 Act is included in the review document.
The Gaming and Lotteries (Amendment) Act 2019, will come into effect on 1 December 2020. Information Notes for Gaming and Lotteries are available here: Information Notes for Gaming and Lotteries
Information notes for relevant licences and permits can be found here: Information Notes for Gaming and Lotteries
Previous examinations of Ireland’s gambling laws
Casino Regulation Committee
The Casino Regulation Committee was set up in August 2006 and its report was published in July 2008 under the title Regulating Gaming In Ireland (PDF - 2.11MB)
Review of Gambling
A paper entitled Options for Regulating Gambling published in December, 2010, represented the culmination of a public consultation undertaken by the Department as part of an overall review of gambling in Ireland.
Is Gambling Illegal In Northern Ireland Right Now
Charitable Lotteries Fund
Is Gambling Illegal In Northern Ireland 2020
The scheme has now ceased to operate.