# Is it safe to sign up with a new betting site, or should you stick with a known name? > Claim check: does brand age separate safe betting sites from new ones? Licence issue dates on the GRAI register, what to check instead, and red flags. Source: https://bookieledger.com/licence/are-new-betting-sites-safe/ Updated: 2026-11-07 Claim: “Established bookmakers are safer than new betting sites.” (framed by Bookie Ledger from this page's question, 7 November 2026). Verdict: not supported by licence data. In the GRAI register snapshot of 6 November 2026, all 40 licensees show issue dates from 1 July to 16 October 2026, so brand age does not separate them. This is not legal advice. ## What does "new" mean here? Lists of "new betting sites" come from third parties, and we do not treat them as fact. The GRAI register gives something firmer: the issue date of each licence. The claim therefore becomes testable. If licence dates separated familiar names from newcomers, the claim would have support. We looked at whether they do. **Bottom line:** We replace the word "new" with a date we can read on the register. ## What does the register show? **Licence issue dates, 40 licensees. Source: GRAI licence register, last updated 20 October 2026, read 6 November 2026 · Checked 7 November 2026** | Measure | Value | |---|---| | Licensees listed (Business to Consumer) | 40 | | Earliest issue date | 1 July 2026 | | Latest issue date | 16 October 2026 | | Licensees with an issue date of 1 July 2026 | 13 | | Licence term | 3 years | Every licence in the snapshot was issued within a window of 3.5 months, because GRAI licences began on 1 July 2026. The register fields we read do not show trading history elsewhere. We will recount these figures on the register on the day of publication. **Bottom line:** Verdict: not supported. All listed licences are from July to October 2026, so licence age is no guide to safety. ## When could the verdict be wrong? - The register adds a licence with an earlier date than we recorded; the table would then change. - A known name proves to run its account tools or terms differently from a newcomer; that is a service question, outside licence dates, and we have not measured it. - A site shows no licence number at all; then the question is not age but licence status. We do not claim that any operator is safe. We compare what operators publish and what the register lists. **Bottom line:** The verdict covers licence dates only; it says nothing on service quality. ## What should you check instead of brand age? 1. The licence number on the site matches a register entry (s.110). 2. The licensee name and trading name match the site. 3. The licence type is right for what the site offers (see [licence types](https://bookieledger.com/licence/remote-betting-licence-rb-rbi/)). 4. You can set a deposit limit; operators must let you set a money limit on your participation (s.164). 5. Age and identity checks happen before the account opens (s.169). Red flags: no number on the site; a number that is not on the register; a domain that imitates a known brand (posing as a licensee is an offence under s.111(2)); a request to send documents outside the account area. **Bottom line:** Check the number, the names, the type, the limit tool and the identity check, whatever the brand's age. ## Where to go next - [Does a .ie address show a site is licensed?](https://bookieledger.com/licence/does-a-dot-ie-domain-mean-a-site-is-licensed/) - [Licence types: RB, RBI and IPB](https://bookieledger.com/licence/remote-betting-licence-rb-rbi/) - [Age and identity checks](https://bookieledger.com/licence/what-betting-sites-check-when-you-open-an-account/) ## Sources - [GRAI licence register](https://www.grai.ie/register/licence-register), snapshot of 6 November 2026. - [Gambling Regulation Act 2024, ss.67, 110, 111, 164, 169](https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2024/act/35/enacted/en/html), Irish Statute Book. - [GRAI, commencement of remote betting licences, 1 July 2026](https://www.grai.ie/news/commencement-of-gambling-regulatory-authority-of-ireland-remote-betting-licences). - Third-party lists of "new" sites: not used as fact. ## What changed 7 November 2026: first version. No later changes recorded.