Underage Gambling

Since July 2017, the Courts and Civil Liabilities (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill was published, which extends the legal minimum age for gambling to 18 years of age for all gambling operators in Ireland.

Some operators use a ‘Think 21’ policy which means if a customer looks like they are under 21 years of age, they must provide ID to prove they are over 18. Operators should insist on seeing photo ID such as Passport or Garda ID card in such cases, and online operators use a variety of online age verification providers to verify the age of all customers.

However, some under 18’s will circumvent the controls in place and operators continue to develop their lines of defence to prevent such occurrence.

Help is available for any person under 18 years of age that may have or be developing a problem or help is also available for parents or families of someone that may be affected. Please click here for a list of some of the service providers in Ireland that may be able to help.