ESRI Survey Shows One in Seven Irish Gamblers Prompted by Operator Messages and Ads

A survey of 1,000 Irish adults who had gambled in the previous year found that one in seven said their most recent online gambling session followed an email, notification or gambling advertisement. The ESRI research, as reported by iGaming Business, was published on Wednesday as Ireland advances its framework under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024.

Four in five respondents had an online gambling account. Among account holders, 53% had more than one while 44% of the full sample gambled both online and in person. Horses, sport and lotteries were the most common activities for first accounts, yet 38% of those who opened for horses or sport later used the account for online casino games, slots, bingo or scratchcards.

Nearly two-thirds of account holders received emails, 52% received app notifications and 16% received text messages. Around a quarter of app notification recipients got them daily or more often. Boredom or stress accounted for 16.4% of most recent online sessions and 5.6% were attempts to recover previous losses. Two-thirds of online gamblers placed at least one bet a week.

Notifications, Behaviour and Harm Signals

One in five respondents said their latest session interrupted another activity, most often work for online gambling. One in four were trying to cut down or planned to do so, though a third of that group reported gambling as much or more than a year earlier. Willpower was cited by 48% of those reducing online gambling and 63% for in-person, while fewer than one in ten used self-exclusion. The ESRI cited separate research estimating one in 30 adults experiences problem gambling with one in five showing some evidence of related problems. Among recent depositors, 70% found depositing very easy and 57% said the same for withdrawals.

Priorities Under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024

The report called for scrutiny of consent to notifications, accessibility of withdrawals and account closures relative to deposits, and links between movement into additional products and harm. It raises questions for the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland as it implements controls on marketing, operator communications, account limits, consumer safeguards and centralised self-exclusion. The legislation, still awaiting full enactment, imposes some of the strictest EU penalties for underage gambling. The GRAI, established last year, launched a parent campaign after ESRI research found 64% of adults gambled before 18, linked to an 83-87% increase in later problem gambling risk, and an 80% higher likelihood if a parent gambled.