Regarding the legality of internet gambling across borders, countries take varying stances. Some countries have openly welcomed online casinos, while others have tried to ban them. Even amongst countries on the same continent, there can be striking differences in how internet gaming is seen and approached. You may find different laws regarding traditional and licensed Bitcoin casino operations.
The United States serves as a model for comprehensive national regulation. It’s already complicated enough to follow federal regulations without factoring in the intricacies of individual states’ laws. Many governments are still trying to get money from reputable gaming websites. Certain jurisdictions have explicitly legalised online gambling, making it available to residents.
Asia
About 60 per cent of the world’s population resides in Asia, making it a prime market for online casinos catering to Asian customers. Many countries in the region have robust economies and high per capita incomes, making them attractive to online casinos and sportsbooks wanting to expand.
Despite artificial limitations from conservative authorities and legislation, the Asian gambling industry is booming in 2022. Several authorities have accepted the enormous potential of gaming.
In 2022, the Indian and Thai markets are expected to grow rapidly. Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines may be the most appealing due to their favourable regulatory environments, tax legislation, and licensing.
Lotteries and sports betting are the two forms of legal gambling in Japan. In 2016, Japanese lawmakers passed a bill making it possible to build integrated resorts. When the authorities finished revising the gaming laws in June 2022, casinos became legal throughout the country. The market for gambling in Japan is expected to reach $9 billion by the end of 2022, attracting established companies and new competitors to the field.
Sports betting, the lottery, and one casino are the only legal forms of gambling available to South Koreans. The estimated revenue from gambling is $17.6 billion.
In the Philippines, betting on sports and other games is not only tolerated but encouraged. Here, the government-run PAG-OR Gaming Zone and the private Cagayan Economic Zone (CEZA) offer to gamble. Over $3 billion in annual revenue is generated in this country. The expense of setting up shop here is higher than in neighbouring countries, but the rewards from the tax system more than compensate for it.
Gambling on horse races and lotteries is legal throughout the country of India; however, Sikkim, Goa, and the Daman district are the only places in India where all forms of gambling are deemed legal. The legal framework surrounding iGaming is unclear, with different state and federal legislation making it hard to tell if a given form of gambling is acceptable. As a result, most casino companies operate in a state of limbo.
Thailand has mixed legality when it comes to gambling. You can legally wager on horses or play the national lottery in this country. Locals can still access and play at online casinos licensed in other countries. Casino tourism is big business in neighbouring countries like Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar, and it’s a popular pastime among Thai citizens.
Europe
Games of chance are legal in at least several EU nations. Games like betting, poker, and casinos may be illegal in some countries, while others may legalise them.
While the European Union acts as a de facto “one state” in terms of economic significance, and member states are subject to regulations approved by the EU, national governments are ultimately responsible for enacting legislation that affects their citizens. This is especially true given the lack of a European governing body for the gambling industry.
No industry-specific law in the European Union (EU) applies to the provision of gaming services. EU countries are independent in organising their gambling services as long as they conform with the TFEU’s fundamental freedoms, as interpreted by the CJEU.
The legality of gambling, poker, and casinos varies widely from country to country. The vast majority of EU member states allow the distribution of some forms of online gambling.
In several regions of Europe, monopolistic systems providing access to online gambling have taken root. A public agency manages these under state authority or by a private company with legal authority.
Despite this, an increasing number of EU nations have implemented licensing systems that allow for the presence of many operators in the market. There is no preferential treatment for any one system under EU law.
The European Union’s many legal systems for online gambling reflect this diversity. The CJEU has issued several decisions addressing the question of whether national regulatory regimes are in line with EU law.
In particular, within the context of administrative collaboration between gambling regulatory authorities, the Commission backs the efforts of EU member states to update their national legal frameworks for online gaming. It also helps to safeguard minors and other vulnerable people.
You’ll find many Bitcoin casino Europe licences in the region available to players who prefer gambling with cryptocurrency.
Canada
In April 2022, Ontario, Canada, launched a new iGaming market. Providers of internet gambling services in the province can now apply for licences from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission. Canada’s gaming business has a long and rich history, so this is a major change.
Unless specifically authorised by a province, gambling is illegal in Canada. Therefore, provincial governments are required to sanction commercial gaming and betting. So, if you want to open a casino in Canada, you must follow the local laws, which differ in each province.
Provincial governments do not set up casinos; instead, they grant licences to private businesses to run online gaming sites and provide associated services. For this reason, each province has its own gaming authority in charge of licensing and regulating the industry within its borders.
As if things weren’t tricky enough for Canadian businesses, they now have to contend with rivals from other countries who offer legal online gambling services. Companies based outside of Canada that provide gambling services to Canadians are not required to register with the Canadian government.
With so many roadblocks in place, it’s difficult for a gambling business to get established in Canada and remain profitable once it does. However, the country has recently relaxed some of its rules and streamlined some registration processes. For instance, in 2021, the government of Canada allowed the sale of single-game wagers.
The United Kingdom
The Gambling Commission oversees all forms of gambling in the United Kingdom, including casinos and betting exchanges. It was established after the Gambling Act of 2005 was passed, and it modernised the rules and regulations governing gaming to reflect technological developments, most notably the rise of online gambling.
When it comes to gambling, the United Kingdom has a variety of rules and restrictions. The regulations cover a wide range of topics, from limiting operator advertising to ensuring that players are at least 21 years old before placing any wagers—the Gambling Act of 2005 and the Gambling Commission’s website both detail key rules and restrictions.
Some restrictions stand out more than others, requiring proof of identity for all customers. Before allowing customers to gamble, they verify their ages, names, addresses, and dates of birth throughout the onboarding process.
The need to verify your identity is both good and bad for players and operators. However, it is now more difficult for minors or those with questionable backgrounds to participate in gambling; thus, everyone benefits.
New Zealand
Affiliate marketers are keen on penetrating the Australian interactive gaming market, as anyone who has searched gambling sites would attest to, for the simple reason that Aussies love a good wager. Some data suggests that roughly 39% of the country’s population enjoys betting. So, many people assume that New Zealand has a comparable proportion of gambling engagement as Australia does because of the strong political and cultural connections between the two countries. In reality, however, that is not the case. 13% of New Zealanders played online casino games and bet on sports in 2018, according to a poll.
Now, with only one-fifth as many people as Australia, New Zealand is not nearly as much of a tourist mecca as Australia. So, the locals don’t have as much taste for gambling as tourists do because the sector isn’t as well developed. Nevertheless, New Zealanders increased their spending on gambling during the global pandemic. The Department of Internal Affairs oversees gambling in New Zealand and reports that in 2020, the typical New Zealander spent $572 on wagering for amusement.
South America
It’s safe to say that South American gambling regulations are as varied as the continent’s many different countries and cultures.
There are more than 410 million individuals who call South America home. If you use the conventional demographic rate, which states that around 75% of any population is over the age of 18, then you can safely assume that more than 307 million of these are of legal gambling age.
But with over half of South America’s population residing in Brazil, a country that has historically been highly hostile to all types of gambling, many would-be players live on the wrong side of various boundaries. To make matters more complicated, each South American country is a collection of autonomous states and municipalities, each with its own set of laws and regulations about one of the oldest “vices” in human history, making it challenging to generalise gambling regulations across the continent.
Gambling, in one form or another, is a natural part of human civilisation. Gambling encompasses various activities, from betting on the results of sporting events and horse races to participating in games of chance like poker and dominoes when money is at stake. And generally speaking, these events take place out of sight of authorities, with tacit approval from local populations.
Things are no different in South America, where you can find gaming in every major city. However, South American countries are notoriously behind the times regarding current gaming regulation, implementing archaic norms that people developed during the era of colonial authority or post-colonial power-seeking.
Online gambling has broadened the industry beyond the reach of traditional casinos, yet these antiquated rules continue to cloud the issue. Despite local laws barring such hobbies, casino gambling, sports betting, lottery, and even Bingo are all within easy reach of citizens of South American countries, thanks to the popularity of the internet and cell phones.
Therefore, most South American governments have stepped up their attempts to legalise, regulate, and tax the booming gaming sector. On the other hand, other nations have responded to the rise of online gambling by doing what the United States did in 2006 and implementing federal legislation to outlaw the use of such sites.
Many nations, led by Argentina and Uruguay, are enacting sensible gambling legislation to boost their economies and reduce the negative effects of illegal gaming. However, countries like Bolivia and Ecuador are sticking to regulations issued over a century ago, typically by religiously motivated monarchs, which has resulted in the demise of their national gaming industry. Finally, countries like Brazil are trying to close the gap between progressive MPs’ attempts to modernise the law and the opposition’s strong resistance to change.
Africa
Considering Africa’s size and population, a comprehensive analysis of the continent’s gambling laws would be arduous.
After all, there are at least 54 independent states in the region, each with its own laws and regulations. Countries like Libya and South Africa, located at the northern and southern corners of the continent, are as dissimilar to one another as any two locations on Earth.
There is a wide variety of African countries, each with its own climate, culture, food, and legal system.
Gambling is strictly forbidden by Islamic law in Sudan, and those caught placing bets on table games or sporting events face public lashing as punishment.
But travel a thousand miles to the southeast, and you’ll find that Kenya is home to not one but thirteen casinos, brick-and-mortar sportsbooks owned by offshore businesses, and even a growing internet casino industry.
Gambling is promoted to increase tourism in large cities like Nairobi, while in rural areas, people gamble avidly on their favourite football teams.
As a result of decades of French colonial rule, many aspects of French culture have found their way into contemporary Moroccan society.
Africa is best studied by dissecting it into its various regions due to the enormous variation in gambling-related local customs, institutional laws, and societal attitudes across the continent.
For this reason, the terms “North Africa,” “West Africa,” “Central Africa,” “East Africa,” and “Southern Africa” will all be used to describe different regions of the continent with varying regulations of gaming.
