A quick guide to dawn raids, competition law and the CCPC in Ireland

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission in Ireland has carried out “dawn raid” searches of businesses in the betting industry as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into potential breaches of competition law.

In the context of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), a dawn raid is an unannounced inspection of business premises conducted by CCPC officials to investigate suspected breaches of competition or consumer protection law. These raids involve searching, inspecting and seizing documents and electronic records to gather evidence.

What prohibitions exist under Irish competition law?

The Competition Act 2002 (as amended) prohibits two main types of anti-competitive behaviour:

• anti-competitive agreements, decisions and concerted practices

• abuse of a dominant position

Penalties for anti-competitive behaviour can include criminal action, issued by the CCPC itself or the Director of Public Prosecutions for more  serious matters, administrative fines of up to €10 million or 10% of the businesses annual turnover 
imposed by the CCPC directly. 

Anti-competitive agreements, decisions and concerted practices

Any agreement by associated parties, which have as their objective, to prevent, restrain or distort competition in trade of any goods or services, in any part of the State, will be deemed anti-competitive. Generally, these practices can result in price fixing, limiting control of the production or market, or applying unequal conditions in transactions between trading parties, all of which are
prohibited.

The CCPC has an administrative leniency policy for members of the cartel who co-operate with investigations at an early stage in return for leniency. In its press release about the dawn raids in the betting sector, the CCPC referred to the Cartel Immunity Programme. This programme, which is run with the DPP, states that individuals may avoid criminal prosecution and get immunity from, or reductions in, fines if they reveal their involvement in illegal activity and fully cooperate with a CCPC investigation. 

Abuse of a dominant position

An undertaking is prohibited from abusing a dominant position it holds in a particular market. An undertaking may be considered to be dominant if it is able to act without taking account of the reaction of its customers or its rivals. For example, a firm which can increase its prices unilaterally because it knows that its customers have few, if any, satisfactory alternative sources of supply and therefore little choice but to pay the higher price. The definition of the market in question can be critical to the assessment of whether a position of dominance is held.

How to deal with dawn raids in Ireland

The CCPC has the power to carry out unannounced searches of business premises and private homes with a search warrant issued by the District Court. Under the warrant, the CCPC can typically enter and search a premises, seize and retain documents and seek information from employees where they have reason to believe that companies or individuals are not compliant with competition or consumer protection law. The actions taken by the CCPC to enter, search and seize are commonly referred to as “dawn raids”. 

Dealing with a dawn raid is serious, daunting and time consuming for a business. To prepare for this possibility, businesses should consider taking the initial steps set out below.

Arrival of inspectors

• Alert your company’s dawn raid coordinator immediately
• Invite the inspectors to wait in a separate area pending your coordinator’s arrival
• Confirm to inspectors that your coordinator is en route
• Comply with, do not obstruct, should the inspectors insist on entering. Obstruction is a serious offence
• Always cooperate with the inspectors

Office searches

Do not

• Obstruct searches
• Interfere with or delete any documents
• Deny access to devices or phones

Do

• Shadow inspectors 
• Take detailed notes
• Copy / photograph documents which are reviewed or seized

The Irish Gambling Regulation Act

The Gambling Regulation Act 2024 was enacted in 2024, with Section 35 providing information sharing provisions between the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland and several State bodies, including the CCPC, Companies Registration Office, the Revenue Commissioners, An Garda Síochána and others. These are wide reaching and companies should be mindful of this.

How Ogier can help

For more information on dawn raids generally, competition law advice, CCPC investigations, gambling regulation advice and legal services related to these topics, please contact a member of our Regulatory or Dispute Resolution team via their contact details below.

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Disclaimer

This client briefing has been prepared for clients and professional associates of Ogier. The information and expressions of opinion which it contains are not intended to be a comprehensive study or to provide legal advice and should not be treated as a substitute for specific advice concerning individual situations.

Regulatory information can be found under Legal Notice