Gambling Laws Around the World

To ensure that all gambling in the UK is conducted fairly and guarantees the safety of residents, all gambling operators are regulated by the Gambling Commission (UKGC), an executive non-departmental public body. As such, the UKGC is responsible for regulating and monitoring all gambling businesses in the country, keeping crime out and protecting vulnerable people.

As a Brit, you will usually come across online operators regulated by the UKGC when exploring the range of online casinos and bookmakers. But you can also look outside the UK borders if you wish, as long as you make sure there is a high-quality gambling licence regulating the operator.

That is why we have written this article about different gambling laws around the world. That way, if you ever feel like gambling on a foreign site, you can familiarise yourself with the law beforehand. Then you know what applies before you claim lucrative $1 deposit bonuses or other great offers on foreign platforms.

United States

Probably the country with the most confusing gambling laws is the United States, which is not surprising as different states apply different legislations.

For years the situation has been that banks and other financial institutions are prohibited by law from processing transactions between US residents and gambling sites. As a result, there have not been many online casinos and bookies offering services to American residents, but there have been some foreign operators that promoted their services to Americans. They claimed that they were not regulated by US gambling laws and therefore were not doing anything illegal.

In recent years, however, most US states have introduced legislation to allow online gambling, while some are planning to do the same and others are debating the issue.

Europe

In Europe, there is no single gambling law for the whole continent, but rather different jurisdictions that regulate online gambling. Today, most European countries allow games of chance, but the extent to which they do so varies. The UKGC regulates gambling in one way, while a gambling authority in, for example, Scandinavia regulates its market differently.

The most prominent gambling jurisdiction in the European Union is Malta, whose gambling legislation is very progressive compared to that of several other countries. In fact, Malta legalised gambling as early as 2001 and has since issued hundreds of licences to a plethora of different local gambling operators.

In Scandinavia too, gambling legislation seems to be becoming more progressive, not least in Sweden. In 2019, the Swedish government dropped its monopoly on online gambling, which previously allowed only a limited number of companies to operate in the country. Today, all operators that receive a licence issued by the Swedish gambling authority, Spelinspektionen, are allowed to provide games of chance to Swedish players.

Australia and New Zealand

Gambling is not only legal in the US and Europe, but also in Australia and New Zealand. But how players must go about gambling legally is a little different.

All online gambling in Australia is primarily regulated by the Interactive Gambling Act (IGA) which makes it illegal for Australian online casinos to offer games to Aussies. However, sports betting and lotteries are legal. Australians can still gamble legally at overseas online casinos.

In New Zealand, most online betting and gambling is prohibited, but only for operators based in the country. However, the law makes it legal for New Zealanders to gamble on foreign websites.

Asia

In Asia, it is the responsibility of each country’s government to decide whether gambling should be legal or not. Therefore, gambling legislation can vary enormously from country to country.

If you are going to gamble at an online casino or bet at a sportsbook in Asia, it is thus important that you know what laws apply in the country you are going to gamble. However, it is worth mentioning that online gambling is illegal in most Asian countries, although in regions like Macau, there are a number of land-based counterparts to visit.

India is one of the countries where online gambling is considered the most progressive. As access to the internet has rapidly spread in the country, many gambling operators have started to offer horse betting and lotteries, which are the only fully legal gambling activities.

Summary

Online gambling has definitely grown in popularity over the last decade. As more and more people get access to the internet and mobile devices, as well as connectivity and digital technology improves, demand and supply increases. Several countries around the world see this as an opportunity to raise more tax revenue, but also as an obligation to protect their residents through strict gambling laws.

As a result, gambling is becoming a legal activity in various parts of the world, and governments are imposing strict requirements on companies who choose to offer online based gambling.