The Temple Bar Games are Ireland's annual online casino awards. Each year an independent jury of industry experts gathers in the heart of Temple Bar, Dublin, to test, score and certify the best online casinos serving Irish players. The result is a single, trusted seal of approval: the Temple Bar Games certificate for the best online casino in Ireland.
Our mission is simple – to give Irish players an honest, expert-led benchmark in a crowded market. We are not an operator and we do not sell gambling. We judge it.
What the Temple Bar Games Are
The Temple Bar Games began as a way to bring transparency to online casinos in Ireland. With hundreds of international and Irish-licensed operators competing for players, it can be hard to tell a genuinely good casino from a well-marketed one. Our awards cut through the noise. Every nominee is assessed against the same published criteria, and only the operators that meet our standard are certified.
The awards are organised by the team behind Online Casino Ireland, whose reviewers have more than 30 years of combined experience in the industry across the EU. You can read more about who we are and how we score on our about us page.
The Award Categories
Each edition of the Temple Bar Games recognises excellence across the categories that matter most to Irish players:
- Best Online Casino in Ireland: The headline award for the operator with the strongest all-round offering for Irish players.
- Best Welcome Bonus: For the fairest, highest-value welcome offer, judged on real terms rather than headline figures.
- Fastest Payouts: For the operator with the quickest, smoothest withdrawals, including instant Revolut cashouts.
- Best Game Library: For the broadest, highest-quality selection of slots, live dealer tables and jackpots.
- Best Irish-Licensed Operator: Recognising operators leading the move onto the new GRAI register.
- Responsible Gambling Award: For the operator with the strongest player-protection tools and safer-play culture.
The Expert Jury
The Temple Bar Games are judged by an independent jury drawn from across the online casino industry. Our panel includes former casino testers, customer support leads, game developers and professional players who collectively understand exactly what makes an online casino genuinely good for Irish players.
Jurors test every nominee anonymously, depositing and withdrawing real money, claiming bonuses, contacting support and reviewing the small print. No operator can pay to win an award, and a commercial relationship does not influence the result. Our independence is the whole point of the Temple Bar Games – you can read how we protect it on our about us page.
How Casinos Are Judged
Every nominee is scored against a consistent, published set of criteria – the same standards we apply to every operator, whether it holds a long-established Malta Gaming Authority licence or a brand-new licence from the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI):
- Licence and regulation: Verified directly on the regulator's register, never from a logo in a footer.
- Safety and security: SSL encryption and modern data-protection standards.
- Payments: Real-money deposit and withdrawal testing with Revolut, Open Banking, Apple Pay and cards.
- Bonuses and terms: Wagering, validity, eligible games and any hidden conditions.
- Game library and providers: Both the size and the quality of the catalogue.
- Customer support: Tested across live chat, email and phone.
- Responsible gambling: Deposit, loss and time limits, plus easy self-exclusion.
The Ceremony in Temple Bar, Dublin
The Temple Bar Games take their name from their home: the historic Temple Bar cultural quarter in the centre of Dublin. The annual awards ceremony is held at The Button Factory on Curved Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, where the winners are announced and certified before an audience of industry guests. Holding the event in Temple Bar keeps the awards rooted in Ireland and in the community of players they serve.
This Year's Certified Casinos
Want to see which operators have earned a Temple Bar Games certificate? Our full, independently judged ranking of the best online casinos in Ireland – with bonuses, payout speeds, licences and detailed scoring – lives on our casinos page.
See the certified best online casinos in Ireland →
Play Responsibly
The Temple Bar Games celebrate online casinos as entertainment, never as a way to make money. We weight responsible gambling heavily in our scoring and signpost help throughout the site. If gambling is no longer fun, free and confidential support is available from GamblingCare.ie, the National Gambling Helpline. You will find a full guide to limits, blocking tools and support services on our responsible gambling page.
Get Involved
Whether you are a player with feedback, an operator seeking nomination details, or a journalist covering the awards, we would love to hear from you. Reach the team through our contact page.