Ireland Publishes Stakeholder Consultation on Social Impact Fund Priorities

The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) has published the results of a national stakeholder consultation designed to inform the strategic direction of Ireland's new Social Impact Fund, which will be financed through mandatory contributions from licensed gambling operators.

Consultation Scope and MethodologyConducted in partnership with Pobal, the consultation engaged 162 respondents through tailored questionnaires and 54 participants across five focus group workshops. Stakeholders included individuals with lived experience of gambling addiction, affected family members, counsellors, treatment providers, NGOs, and academic researchers.

Key Findings for OperatorsThe consultation revealed strong consensus on several critical gaps in Ireland's current response to gambling harm:

Limited scale of existing services relative to demandInconsistent coordination across service providersAbsence of a dedicated national frameworkLack of unified referral pathwaysParticipants identified the Social Impact Fund as a foundational mechanism to address these infrastructure gaps and build sustainable harm prevention and treatment responses.

What Comes NextGRAI has confirmed that a broader public consultation will follow, which will include specific input on the structure of the statutory annual contribution required from licensed gambling operators. This second phase will be particularly relevant for operators planning their compliance budgets and corporate responsibility strategies in the Irish market.

The findings represent stakeholder perspectives rather than prevalence data or formal evaluations, positioning this as the first stage in developing the fund's investment strategy.