Complaints about a bookmaker: operator, GRAI and other routes

Before you complain

Most problems with a bookmaker are about one of four things: how a bet was settled, a withdrawal that is held, an account that was restricted or closed, or a safer-gambling tool that did not work. Each of them has to start with the bookmaker, because your account and your money are held there. Outside bodies only step in later, and only for some kinds of problem.

A complaint is not the same as a losing bet. Betting costs money and most bets lose; a result you did not want is not something anyone can reverse. A complaint is for when you think the bookmaker did not follow its own terms or the law.

Before you write, gather what you will need:

• your account username or customer number (never your password);
• the bet reference, the selection, the stake in euro, the price and the time the bet was placed;
• screenshots of the bet slip, the account history and any message from the bookmaker, with the date visible;
• the part of the bookmaker’s terms that you think applies, copied with its section number and the date you read it;
• the company name and GRAI licence number of the bookmaker, from its footer or terms.

The last point matters more than it seems. A complaint goes to a company, not a brand, and the GRAI register lists companies. If you cannot find a GRAI licence for the site at all, read how to check a licence before anything else: the routes on this page assume you are dealing with a licensee.

If the problem is that betting has started to cost more than you can afford, put the complaint aside for a moment. GamblingCare is on 1800 936 725, 24 hours a day. You can set a limit or take a break with the bookmaker at the same time as complaining; one does not cancel the other.

Which route for which problem

Different bodies deal with different problems. The table is a map; the steps below explain each route.

We could not find an Irish public body that decides individual disputes between a bettor and a bookmaker and orders a payment. The GRAI states that it does not resolve disputes. For disputes about a bet or a balance, the route after the bookmaker is the dispute service named in the bookmaker’s terms, if it names one.

Step 1: the bookmaker’s complaints procedure

Every bookmaker’s terms contain a complaints section. It is usually near the end of the general terms, sometimes with a separate page in the help centre. Read it before you write, because it tells you three things:

• Where to send the complaint. Often live chat or customer services first, then a complaints team.
• The stages. In the Irish terms we have read for the atlas, procedures run in two or three stages: customer services, then a manager or senior team, then a final written response.
• The deadlines. Some operators state how long they take to acknowledge a complaint and to give a final response. Read carefully: in some terms the deadlines quoted apply only to customers in the United Kingdom, and the Irish deadline is not stated.

Put the complaint in writing, even if you started on live chat. Use the word “complaint” in the first line, so it enters the complaints process and is not treated as a general question. Ask for a reference number and a date by which you will get a final response.

The table below shows what the operators in the atlas publish about support and complaints, as recorded in our operator files. It is not a ranking. Where a cell says we could not confirm something, we did not find it on the operator’s public pages; it may still be available after you log in.

Operator details as stated by each operator on its own pages and recorded in our operator files; GRAI register checked 4 October 2026. Terms change; the version on the operator’s site applies.

If the bookmaker does not reply by its own deadline, write again, quote your reference number and the deadline, and ask for a final response. Keep the tone factual. A final response, or the end of the stated period, is usually what opens the next step.

Step 2: a dispute service named in the terms

Many bookmakers name an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) service in their terms. An ADR service is a third party that reviews a dispute between a customer and a business when the business’s own procedure has ended without agreement. We could not confirm whether each service charges the customer; check its own rules.

In the terms of the bookmakers in this atlas, the services named are IBAS and eCOGRA. Which one applies is set by the bookmaker’s terms, not by your choice; the table above shows the name where the operator states it.

Points to check before you go to a dispute service:

• Have you finished the bookmaker’s procedure? Most services expect a final response first, or a set period to pass without one.
• Is there a time limit? Some terms set a limit for taking a dispute to the service, such as 12 months from the date of the dispute.
• What can the service decide? Read its own rules on what it looks at and whether its decision binds the bookmaker. We could not confirm this for every service, so we do not summarise it here.
• Where is it based? The services named are not Irish public bodies. They work under their own rules.

If the terms name no dispute service at all, the bookmaker’s final response is the end of the private route. You can still report a breach of a licence duty to the GRAI, as below, but the GRAI will not decide the money question for you.

What the GRAI does with complaints

The GRAI has a complaints page for reports about licensees. Its role is to check that a licensee meets the obligations that apply to it. Three points shape what you can expect:

• It looks at breaches of duties that are in force. Examples are the duties on limits (s. 164), credit (s. 165), identity and age checks (s. 169) and account closure (s. 171). The complaints page itself lists obligations that have not yet commenced, such as the National Gambling Exclusion Register; a complaint about those cannot be acted on yet.
• It does not settle your dispute. The GRAI does not decide whether a bet should have won or order a bookmaker to pay a particular amount. A report to the GRAI can lead to action against the licensee, but it is not a claim for your money.
• It deals with unlicensed operators differently. If a site takes bets from people in Ireland without a GRAI licence, contact the GRAI through its general enquiries. Under s. 75 the GRAI can ask the High Court for orders against unlicensed providers and their advertisers.

Regulations on complaints procedures have been made under the Act (S.I. No. 170 of 2026). We have not summarised their detailed content here, and we could not confirm on a GRAI page how long the GRAI takes to deal with a report or whether it tells the person who reported what it decided.

When you report to the GRAI, give the licensee’s company name and licence number, the duty you think was broken, the dates, and copies of what you sent the bookmaker and what it replied. A clear record of Step 1 makes the report easier to act on.

Sources: GRAI, complaints; Gambling Regulation Act 2024, ss. 75, 164, 165, 169, 171; Legislation Directory (S.I. No. 170 of 2026). Read on 3 October 2026.

Other routes

Some problems are not about your betting account at all. These bodies deal with them.

• Advertising: the ASAI. The Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland handles complaints about marketing, including gambling adverts and paid search adverts. Under the ASAI Code, complaints about marketing on non-Irish websites aimed at Irish consumers can be referred to the regulator in the advertiser’s own country (for a UK website, the ASA in the United Kingdom).
• Consumer practices: the CCPC. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission enforces the Consumer Protection Act 2007, which bans misleading commercial practices. It is the body to tell about a practice that misleads consumers generally, rather than a dispute about one bet.
• Personal data: the DPC. If a bookmaker mishandles your personal data or identity documents, write first to its data protection contact. If that does not resolve it, the Data Protection Commission (6 Pembroke Row, Dublin 2, D02 X963) takes complaints in writing through its online form; its phone line, (01) 765 01 00, is for general queries.
• Unlicensed betting: the GRAI. As above, through its general enquiries.

We have not covered disputes about a card payment with your bank here; ask your bank directly what it can do.

If a dispute is causing money worries, MABS (Money Advice and Budgeting Service), which gives free advice, is on 0818 07 2000 (Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 20:00). For support with gambling, Extern Problem Gambling is on 089 241 5401 (problemgambling.ie) and Gamblers Anonymous Ireland runs meetings around the country (gamblersanonymous.ie).

Sources: ASAI Code; Consumer Protection Act 2007; DPC, how to contact us; GRAI, Get help. Read on 3 October 2026.

Complaints about self-exclusion and limits

A complaint that a safer-gambling tool did not work deserves extra care, because it is about protection rather than money alone.

Every GRAI licensee must provide spending limits and close an account when asked. Self-exclusion is offered by each operator separately. If you set a limit or excluded yourself and could still deposit or bet, write to the bookmaker straight away, give the date you set the tool and the dates you were able to bet, and ask it to confirm the tool is now in place. Keep a copy.

If the bookmaker does not fix it, report it to the GRAI as a possible breach of a licence duty. Ireland’s National Gambling Exclusion Register is not operating yet, so a complaint cannot be based on it; until it is, protection depends on each operator’s own tools plus blocking software and bank gambling blocks.

If you hold accounts with several bookmakers, set the tool with each of them. Gamban and BetBlocker are listed on the GRAI’s protection tools page, and several Irish banks offer a gambling block.

Betting costs money and most bets lose. If it has stopped feeling like a choice, talk to someone: GamblingCare National Helpline 1800 936 725 (open around the clock) or the HSE Drugs and Alcohol Helpline 1800 459 459 (Monday to Friday, 9:30 to 17:30). Both are free.

Templates and records

A short, dated record is the most useful thing you can bring to any stage of a complaint. Start it the day the problem happens.

A first written complaint can be short. Adapt this outline; the parts in square brackets are yours to fill in.

• Subject: Complaint – account [username or customer number] – [date of the problem]
• What happened: On [date and time] I [placed bet ref. … / requested a withdrawal of €… / asked to close my account].
• What I expected: Under section […] of your terms, read on [date], I expected […].
• What I am asking for: [Resettlement of the bet / release of the withdrawal / confirmation that the account is closed].
• Please: treat this as a formal complaint, give me a reference number, and tell me when I will receive your final response.
• Attached: [screenshots, account history, earlier messages].

Do not send passwords, full card numbers or more identity documents than the bookmaker asks for. Send documents only through the bookmaker’s own upload page or the channel its terms name.

Keep everything until the matter is closed, including the bookmaker’s final response. If you later go to a dispute service or the GRAI, they will ask for it.

Complaints about Rivoatlas

Rivoatlas is not a bookmaker and does not hold a gambling licence. We do not hold accounts or money, we are not a party to your account with any bookmaker, and we cannot act for you in a dispute. We do not run a complaints service for bookmakers and we do not decide disputes.

Complaints about this website go to us. If a fact in an operator file is wrong — a licence number, a date, a quote from terms that have changed — write to support@rivoatlas.com with the page and the source. We check it against the source and correct the page. For personal data or legal matters, write to admin@rivoatlas.com. The contact page has a form for both.

This page is general information, not legal advice. For advice on your own situation, speak to a solicitor.