Irish lottery permit planner: which route, and the latest day to apply

The rule, in the Act's own words and the public bodies' own words

Source: Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956, section 26A (revised), Law Reform Commission. Read 26 October 2026.

Section 26A:

Section 26 shall not apply to a lottery where—

(a) the total value of the prizes is not more than €1,000,

(b) the price of each ticket is not more than €5,

(c) the maximum number of tickets sold is not more than 1,500,

(d) the lottery is conducted for the benefit of a charitable or philanthropic purpose, and

(e) the promoter of the lottery derives no personal profit from the lottery and has not conducted a lottery in accordance with this section during the preceding 3 months.

Source: Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956, section 27A (revised), Law Reform Commission. Read 26 October 2026.

Section 27A:

(1) Section 26 shall not apply to a lottery where it is conducted in conjunction with the selling or marketing of a particular product where—

(a) the total value of the prizes is not more than €2,500, and

(b) there is no charge for taking part in the lottery other than the purchase of the product concerned (if such is required) and there is no additional charge for the redemption of a prize.

Source: Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956, section 27B (revised), Law Reform Commission. Read 26 October 2026.

Section 27B:

(c) be made to the superintendent of the Garda Síochána concerned not less than 60 days before the first day on which it is intended to promote a lottery to which the application relates.

(4) A superintendent of the Garda Síochána to whom an application for a lottery permit is made under this section shall, not later than 28 days after receiving the application, either—

(6) A lottery permit, if not previously revoked or suspended under section 46 (inserted by section 19 of the Gaming and Lotteries (Amendment) Act 2019) shall continue in force for such period not exceeding 12 months as may be specified in the permit and shall then expire.

(b) the price of each ticket shall not be more than €10;

(c) the total value of the prizes in a lottery shall not be more than €5,000 or where more than one lottery is held in any week the total value shall not be more than €5,000;

(d) not more than 5 per cent of the total proceeds shall be retained by the holder of a lottery permit when the lottery is held for the benefit of a charitable organisation.

Source: Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956, section 28 (revised), Law Reform Commission. Read 26 October 2026.

Section 28:

(b) be made to the court not less than 60 days before the first day on which it is intended to promote a lottery to which the application relates.

(6) A lottery licence, if not previously revoked or suspended under section 46 (inserted by section 19 of the Gaming and Lotteries (Amendment) Act 2019) shall continue in force for such period not exceeding 12 months as may be specified in the licence and shall then expire.

(a) the holder of the licence shall derive no personal profit from the lottery;

(i) if more than one lottery is held in any week, shall be not more than €30,000, and

(ii) if one lottery is held in any year, shall be not more than €360,000;

(d) not more than 25 per cent of the total proceeds shall be retained by the holder of the licence and utilised for the expenses of promotion, including commission, and any free entry for the lottery shall be deemed to be a payment of commission to the extent of its value;

(e) not more than 75 per cent of the total proceeds shall be allocated to prizes and not less than 25 per cent shall be allocated to a charitable or philanthropic purpose;

Source: Form LP1, Lottery Permit Application, An Garda Síochána. Read 26 October 2026.

Form LP1 (Garda), 01/12/2020:

(n.b. this date must be at least 60 days from date of application)

Source: Apply for a Lottery Permit, gov.ie (last updated 11 April 2025). Read 26 October 2026.

gov.ie, Apply for a Lottery Permit (last updated 11 April 2025):

There is currently no fee to apply for a Lottery Permit.

A decision on whether to grant or refuse the Permit application will be made by the Superintendent within 28 days from receipt of the application.

Source: Lottery and bingo licence, Courts Service guide. Read 26 October 2026.

Courts Service guide, Lottery and bingo licence:

There is a fee of €150 per application.

Source: Charitable and philanthropic licensing, Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland. Read 26 October 2026.

Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland:

It is not envisaged that this licence type will be open for applications in 2026. Therefore charities and philanthropic organisations should continue to apply for licences under the current permit system.

Source: Gambling Regulation Act 2024, commencement table, electronic Irish Statute Book. Read 26 October 2026.

Gambling Regulation Act 2024, commencement table (the advertising sections 143 to 151 and the charitable licence sections 118 to 128):

Ss. 143-151 Not yet commenced. Commencement order required under s. 1(2)

Ss. 118-128 Not yet commenced. Commencement order required under s. 1(2)

Some guides already show the figures from the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 (€2,000 / €5 / 1,500). Those sections are not yet in force; this page uses the 1956 Act figures in force today.

How the page decides

• Every answer is needed. A blank or a "don't know" gives "ask your Garda station or District Court office", never a route.
• Section 26A is suggested only when the lottery is charitable or philanthropic with no personal profit, prizes are not more than €1,000, each ticket not more than €5, not more than 1,500 tickets, and the promoter has run no section 26A lottery in the preceding 3 months. The page says "may fall within section 26A, confirm with your Garda station"; it never says more than that.
• Section 27A appears only if you answer yes to the product question and prizes are under €2,500.
• A Garda permit (section 27B) is suggested when each ticket is not more than €10 and prizes not more than €5,000 in the week. A District Court licence (section 28) is suggested above that, up to €360,000 in a year, and only for a charitable or philanthropic purpose with no personal profit.
• Any figure within 10 per cent of a cap, or a second lottery in the same week, gives "ask": the page cannot add up what it has not seen.
• The latest day to apply counts 60 clear days between the day of application and the first day of promotion, neither day included. "Apply no later than" is that day less our 14-day buffer, shown as ours.
• A first day fewer than 60 clear days away gives "ask now".

How we check this rule

Every rule above is quoted character for character from one data file on this page, which names the regime it belongs to, the source it came from, its address and the date we read it. Last checked against legislation 26 October 2026. A separate freshness check fails if that date is more than 35 days old, and the sources are re-read monthly. The sources:

• Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956, sections 26A, 27A, 27B and 28 (revised to 31 July 2023), Law Reform Commission, read on 26 October 2026, and the same sections as enacted in the Gaming and Lotteries (Amendment) Act 2019 on the electronic Irish Statute Book, read the same day. The two agree. The only later changes to these sections, the 2022 Garda Functions Act's "inspector" wording and the 2024 Act's repeal, were not commenced on that date.
• Form LP1, An Garda Síochána, read on 26 October 2026 (it asks for the proposed ticket price, the prize value in any one lottery per week, and a start date at least 60 days from the application).
• Apply for a Lottery Permit, gov.ie (last updated 11 April 2025), and Lottery and bingo licence, Courts Service, both read on 26 October 2026.
• Charitable and philanthropic licensing, Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, and the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 commencement table, both read on 26 October 2026.

Not worked out on this page, on purpose:

• The repealed sections 23 to 25 of the 1956 Act.
• Any "six months, same beneficiary" rule: we could not confirm one in the Act.
• Raffles at an event under any special rule: none is applied here.
• The Gambling Regulator's charitable licence and its figures: the sections are not in force.
• Lotteries in Northern Ireland or Great Britain.
• Anything written for the people who take part: this page is for organisers only.

If a rule changes or we find an error, we correct the page and record it here.