Stake Blocks Irish Customers After Gambling Regulator Intervention

Stake blocked access for customers in Ireland in the week before Sept. 14, after an intervention by the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI), The Irish Times reported.

Ireland's licensing regime for online betting took effect on July 1, 2026, and the GRAI has issued 33 licenses since. Stake does not hold one.

Regulator Presses Geo-Blocked Operators to Refund Players

The GRAI declined to name the companies involved. It said operators "including two major prediction markets and a major international online gambling platform" had geo-blocked their services after its interventions.

The GRAI is working closely with operators who have geo-blocked to ensure that consumers in Ireland are promptly refunded all monies deposited with these operators.

The statement was given to The Irish Times. The two prediction markets are understood to be Polymarket and Kalshi, both of which cut off Irish users in July.

Polymarket was also ordered blocked in South Korea over illegal gambling in August.

Enforcement Rests on Court Orders and Fines

The GRAI can sanction operators or take High Court action against firms serving Ireland without the appropriate license. Chief Executive Anne Marie Caulfield told Irish broadcaster RTÉ on July 19 that the authority had made almost 30 interventions, and that sites withdrew in the "vast majority" of them.

"We can go to the High Court and get a blocking order for access to the site, and also in relation to the funding involved," Caulfield said.

Under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024, breaches can carry sanctions of up to €20 million ($23 million) or 10% of turnover, plus license revocation or prosecution.

The GRAI is reported to be investigating more than 100 operators, and Caulfield has said it has live black market investigations "with a view to potential prosecutions". The next deadline is Dec. 1, when in-person operators must move off Revenue-issued permits.

Treat gambling as entertainment you pay for. 18+, and if it stops feeling like entertainment, help exists at BeGambleAware and GamCare.