Navigating international online gambling laws and regulations

Giving an accurate summary of international online gambling laws is not easy. The industry is just now picking up steam, and quite a lot of countries worldwide are reviewing their laws, passing new bills, and lifting some restrictions, which means that regulations are constantly shifting. Even the most eagle-eyed gambler is bound to miss something.

However, there are some basics that remain in place. In this article, we would like to talk about regulations and laws around the world, and the different way in which countries approach the iGaming industry. You’ll find, in this article, that many countries have resorted to outright bans, while others have taken a much more liberal approach.

Accessing Online Casinos

Before we talk about laws, we must first talk about how gamblers access online casinos. Obviously, we don’t mean in the literal sense, as going to a gambling website requires you to simply click on a link or type in a URL. Rather, we are referring to the different kinds of gambling websites that you can access. Broadly speaking, there are two main kinds of online casinos.

• Local or Domestic

Local, or domestic, online casinos are those whose headquarters are located in the country where you are playing from. In order for a gambling website to have local headquarters, they must operate in countries where online gambling is fully legal. Without a license, they wouldn’t be able to get the business started at all.

• International or Offshore

The second option is to play at an international, or offshore casino. There are two benefits to this option; the first is that you are getting a multilingual online casino website, equipped with some of the finest games. The second advantage is that even players from countries where online casinos exist in a legal grey area can play at offshore casinos.

But, what exactly do we mean by “legal grey area?” Well, that is a topic we would be glad to discuss in the next segment. We are going to go over the different kinds of laws, and how they prohibit or regulate the iGaming industry.

The Regulations Imposed on iGaming

Generally speaking, we can differentiate three categories for countries when it comes to online gambling; countries where it is legal, those where it isn’t, and those in which gambling sites exist in a legal grey area. In this section, we are going to explain these three categories, and talk a bit about why they exist.

• Legal

Usually, when discussing countries in which online gambling is legal, we are talking about those that have acknowledged these sites as legitimate businesses. However, it isn’t enough to simply legalize them. If we look at the data, we will find that countries with legal iGaming industries, are those that also have the safest gambling industries in the world.

The reason for that is simple; gambling is treated like any other business, with strict regulations imposed upon it. Websites that operate in these countries are expected to live up to certain standards, such as getting a license, submitting their games for review, and ensuring their players’ safety. This is why many argue that prohibition does not work, and often leads to unsafe practices.

• Illegal

Regardless of what the facts show, there are many countries that have outright banned gambling. Many of the countries in which online gambling is illegal have noted a pretty large black market, run by people who are not privy to any legal regulations. The residents of these countries are also much more likely to use VPNs or other means to access international online casinos.

So, if we accept that prohibition does not work, then why do countries still choose to ban iGaming. Well, there are several reason, first of which is that many countries simply don’t understand it. As accustomed as we are to the internet, we have to remember that it is a new phenomenon in pop culture. A lot of countries are simply not ready to embrace businesses operating online.

• Grey Area

Finally, we get to those places in which online casinos exist in a legal grey area. What we mean here is that, many countries have either imposed bans on gambling that simply do not encompass iGaming, or countries which ban operating online casinos, but not necessarily gambling at those same websites. So, what are the solutions.

When it comes to countries that ban operating casinos, the solution is simple; a player can legally visit an offshore website, and play their favorite games to their heart’s content. In countries where the laws don’t explicitly ban online casinos, but do ban gambling, there may be some issues. The easiest answer we can give is to research the laws and precedents in your country, and come to the best conclusion.

The Future of iGaming

The question many may ask is; what is the future of gambling online? It is a difficult question to answer, as predicting what is going to happen is never easy. However, we can make certain assumptions based on observations made right now. The easiest observation to make is that a lot of countries are reviewing their gambling laws, and finding it better to create a safe and regulated market. Based on that, we can assume that in the next decade or two, more countries will have legalizing iGaming.

There are, of course, many countries who’ve banned iGaming due to deeper cultural or religious reasons. In these nations, it isn’t likely that we will see a difference any time soon. After all, the reason these governments have made laws against gambling have nothing to do with statistics or economic development, but rather a sense of cultural conviction. Unless there are drastic changes, we don’t see that shifting any time soon.

However, the countries in which casinos exist in a legal grey area, are those most likely to legalize the industry in the future. There is no denying that gambling can have a huge impact on a country’s economy. The industry is growing rapidly, opening up job opportunities, and generating billions. Certainly, many governments are interested in getting a slice of the pie. And if their population is already gambling, they might as well do it at local, and regulated, online casinos.