What Options Are Available for Gambling in Ireland?

Discover your options if you want to gamble in Ireland. This review covers land-based venues as an alternative to online gambling. (Image courtesy of gankogroup on Vecteezy)

Ireland has a significant sports betting and casino gambling scene. We cover the laws and the Irish online casino scene here.

However, we don’t cover other options available to those in Ireland who may want to gamble offline occasionally.

We know there are plenty of online gambling sites, but what happens if you want a night out or you fancy a flutter on sports or slots without burying your eyes into a screen?

As high street gambling is legal in the country, there are plenty of options available. I am going to take you through each one, so when you do need a break from online gambling, you can get out and about and visit land-based venues.

Race Tracks

When it comes to horse racing, Ireland has some of the best racehorses and jockeys in the world. They often travel between UK and Irish racetracks, and on the racing scene, the horses, owners, and jockeys are famous.

The most famous tracks are Curragh, Leopardstown, Punchestown, Galway, Fairyhouse, and Listowel. Unfortunately, none of these race tracks offer slots or any form of casino entertainment, so if you visit these tracks, it’s all about betting on horses.

At the same time, the bookies will also take bets for sports events that are usually aired live on TV in the clubhouse and other areas surrounding the race course.

18+ Gambling Age Limit: Just note that in Ireland, you cannot gamble if you are under the age of 18. Not only could you get into trouble for doing so, you could affect the livelihoods of the gambling establishment owner and the jobs of those who work there.

Land Based Casinos

Ireland has a number of legal land-based casinos. You can play video slots (many of which are available online), and there are plenty of table games.

Roulette, Blackjack, and Baccarat are some of the most popular tables, while there Caribbean Stud Poker is also available in many of these venues. You have to be aware, though, that the bet limits on table games versus online tables are usually much higher in land-based casino establishments.

With that being said, some of the larger establishments also have electronic Roulette games with low minimum bet that usually start at around 50¢ per bet.

Also, some of the game machines offer virtual roulette games like 10p Roulette and 20p Roulette. You can play 20p Boost Roulette for free via our Casinoplusbonus free casino games page. Although the Irish land-based versions of these games are in pence, they the 10p and 20p versions will essentially become 10¢ or 20¢.

Other cheaper options than playing on the seated table games is to use the same virtual arcade style game machines as the roulette games just mentioned. They are essentially multi-game arcade-style game machines with blackjack, video poker, baccarat, sic bo, and a variety of other games.

Some of the most famous land-based Irish Casinos

• The Sporting Emporium (Dublin)

• Penthouse Casino & Card Club (Dublin)

• Silks Club (Dublin)

• The Macau Casino Club (Cork)

• Emerald Casino (Galway)

• Playland Casino (Dublin)

• Club 92 (Dublin)

High Street Sports Betting

For sports betting, the obvious place to go to watch live football, horse racing, and other events on in-store TVs are high-street sports betting shops. If you are also a slots player, then you are in luck because I’ve never walked into an Irish sports betting shop that doesn’t have a selection of video slot machines with 100s of games available in each.

Aside from being able to play video slots and place bets on Fixed Odds Betting Machines (FOBs) or over the counter, many high-street sports betting stores also feature multi-game video gambling machines with virtual table games, much the same as the ones you would find in a land-based casino in Ireland..

The most famous sports betting shops in Ireland

• Paddy Power

• BoyleSports

• Ladbrokes

• William Hill (Play’n GO Book of Dead Slots)

• Coral

• Betfred

Book of Dead and Play’n GO Slots: If you play at online casinos, then you have almost certainly heard about Play’n GO; a brand you will not find in land-based establishments. That is except for William Hill sores after the company made a deal to roll out Play’n GO slots on WH FOBT machines.

The Irish Gambling Scene is Bustling With Options

There you have it: racetracks, land-based casinos, and high-street sports betting stores.

You will also find dedicated high street stores that cater specifically to video slot and virtual table game players.

The Playland Arcade on O’Connell Street in Dublin is an extension of the Playland land-based casino, which is something the Hippodrome Casino in London also does. It is essentially a walk-in slot shop outside the casino minus the red carpet treatment you would usually get from casino staff.

Galway City has Caesars Palace Arcade, and in Cork, there is The Macau Sporting Club – both are gambling dens with video slots and virtual gaming machines.

As for the slot brands you will find supplying brick and mortar, betting shops, and slot dens, many of them you will find also available in Irish online casinos, and on our arcade slot machine guide. See the accompanying table for a list of top brands supplying the Irish land-based gambling market with video slots and multi-game machines.

Always gamble responsibly: Gambling is not a way to make money. It is an entertainment hobby, and as with all hobbies, you spend money to enjoy yourself. However, on occasion you can win while gambling, but when you do, maintain your usual betting levels while banking a portion of your winnings.