Where in the world is gambling legal?

Gambling laws around the world are seemingly shifting and changing every year. With some exceptions, almost every country on Earth has adopted some sort of regulation to boost its economy with additional revenue streams from gambling. Similarly, more and more individuals are furnishing their income with money made from gambling. In some cases, most prominently online Poker, more and more individuals are going "pro", focusing on particular casino games and making it their vocation to play in casinos around the world and making a living off of it.

Reason enough, then, for us to take a look at online gambling in particular and gambling in general and how different states attempt to regulate their markets in different ways. Especially within the European Union for example, differences can be quite big!

Gambling in the EU

While most people would look at the EU nowadays as a singular economic unit, differences in regulation and economies are still strong. This is especially the case for gambling and online gambling in particular, where legislation is up to each and every member state.

Countries where online casinos are fully legal

In most cases online gambling specifically is legal, even if a country in question does not license online casinos itself. European countries that do not regulate regarding gambling sites whatsoever are:

• Albania

• Andorra

• Belarus

• Faroe Islands

• Gibraltar

• Isle of Man

• Kosovo

• Liechtenstein

• Malta

This means that if you live in these countries and find yourself betting or gambling using these pages then there is still a risk of running into a shady casino operator. These groups abuse the fact that online gambling in your country isn't fully legislated yet and usually don't run offices in your country, neither. Despite these operators still being subject to existing European guidelines and laws, we nevertheless recommend always checking a gambling platform's about or legal page regarding legal status or associated payment providers to get a feeling for the platform at hand.

Countries where local operators cannot run online casinos

Despite having their main offices in these countries, operators are prohibited from running online casinos and thus revenue from online gambling in these European countries, or require a local license while operators from abroad are free to run their gambling platforms in these countries:

• Greece

• Hungary

• Ireland

• Latvia

• Lithuania

• Macedonia

• Moldova

• Monaco

• Norway

• Montenegro

• Portugal

• San Marino

• Slovenia

• Sweden

• Switzerland

At the time of writing most of these countries have additional or supplemental legislation pending. Most of these countries also have gambling commissions in place seeking to further curtail illegal online gaming and online gambling.

Countries allowing foreign online casinos

• Cyprus

• Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Czech Republic

• Iceland

• Luxembourg

• Serbia

• Slovakia

Countries where online casino operators are required to be licensed by a local regulator

Finally, here is a list of countries where operators are required to apply for a license and are also obligated to comply with any and all applicable legislation:

• Austria

• Belgium

• Bulgaria

• Croatia

• Denmark

• Estonia

• Finland

• France

• Germany

• Italy

• Netherlands

• Poland

• Romania

• Spain

These countries are usually seen as fairly comprehensive in their approach to both regular gambling and online gambling. Some of them also regulate for example lottery different from gambling platforms. It is also these countries which tend you regularly adapt parts of existing legislation, or create new frameworks to better combat illegal operations, as well as protect certain demographics from possible consequences of gambling. Similarly, sports betting is also very popular in these countries, not only making up large parts of online gambling traffic but also considerable annual revenue.

Legal status of gambling and online casinos in the UK

Not only since Brexit has UK been considered a special case in regards to online gambling, online casino platforms and sports betting. Due to it's long tradition of races and sports events which has millions of people betting every year, the advent of online betting and online gaming has called for several adaptations over several legislative periods.

The biggest milestone in recent history was without a doubt the Gambling Act of 2005. It brought with it the formation of the UK gambling commission, which now regulates online Poker, sports betting, casino gambling, online gambling, bingo and lottery games. Anyone is required to obtain a license from this commission in order to be able to offer these gaming opportunities to citizens. Thanks to the Gambling Act all you need for for online gaming of this kind is to be 18 years or older and an internet connection.

The gambling act was a big leap towards consumer protection. Take it from the opening text itself to see the priorities of that piece of legislation and the primary goals for the new licensing system - and keep in mind this happened almost 20 years ago!

1. " Preventing gambling from being a source of crime or disorder, being associated with crime, disorder, or as an accessory to crime.

2. Ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair fashion.

3. Protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling.  "

This lead to operators having to prove financial stability and being capable of providing fair gaming opportunity to their players. The Gambling Commission is to oversee licensing and monitoring of gambling websites and gaming platforms. To regulate interpretation and application of provisions is also in its scope.

It's also the Gambling Act that made it possible for licensed lottery and gambling operators to advertise in the UK. This means that whenever you visit an online gambling platform in the UK which can show a license issued by the Gambling Commission you are safe to assume it's a perfectly legal online gambling platform.

Despite recent changes in the political statement, it's safe to state that objectively, the Gambling Act and its exercizing body the Gambling commission make for a more stable framework than can be found in most other countries, be it in the European Union, the US, South America or even Asia.

Legal gambling jurisdictions under the Gambling Act

Certain territories have been exempt from certain statutes set out in the Gambling Act as long as they can prove they meet all standards laid out. This means that operators from these jurisdictions can offer their services (read: online gambling platforms) to customers in the UK. These jurisdictions include:

• Alderney

• Antigua and Barbuda

• Gibraltar

• Isle of Man

• Tasmania

And finally, EEA Countries. Regarding this last point however there is currently some ambivalence about the legalities which has not been expressly adressed yet. We will update this article once more is known.

Operators with a base of operations in these territories are allowed to run and maintain online gambling and betting platforms in the UK for UK citizens as long as they are strictly adhering to all existing gambling laws. This is assured by regular audits by the commission, which are not taken lightly. In 2020 alone the Gambling Commission issued £44 million in fines to various platforms. The gambling industry is certainly taking note.

The UK Gambling Commission's commitment to safer gambling

Most of these fines were in fact issues due to individual companies' failings in social responsibility, the treatment of customers and failings in acting in accordance with other legislative bodies' recent adaptions due to Covid-19. Gamblings Laws will also, most likely, see further limits on bet sizes or monthly bankroll limits - something that is also being discussed in member states of the EU at the moment. Especially navigating such limits could prove tricky for online gambling platforms.

On the one hand a commitment to safer gambling is certainly in everybody's best interest. Imposing too many limits on too many activities - for example sports betting - carries with it the risk of a certain percentage of customers seeking other gambling sites to conduct their online gambling on. Often these sites could be trying to skirt around existing gambling laws, bordering on the illegal even. It's simply one of these instances where an attempt to regulate leads to averse results. Clearly cooperation between the gambling industry and the Gambling Commission is bound to see positive results for consumers while keeping illegal online casinos at bay. 

A look abroad

Looking across the oceans will see more interesting cases of how governments regulate gambling within their territories.

• Take for example Singapore. Home to two of the best casino resorts in the world, visitors still have to pay an entrance fee whenever stepping into one. Being a bank and service capital in Southeast Asia, Singapore also attracts a certain number of highrollers every year. This lead to "casino cruises" being held regularly, furnishing ships for casino gaming on international waters to avoid illegal activities within Singapore jurisdiction.

• Another distinction to make in Singapore is the legal definition of gaming vs. gambling. Gaming refers to games of skill and can be conducted in private, whereas gambling - outside of licensed casinos - is strictly prohibited. Lotteries in Singapore are legalized and also take care of sports betting.

• Gambling in Japan is another interesting study case. It is generally banned in Japan, with exceptions being betting on horse racing or motor sports. Public sports and lottery (takarakuji in japanese) are also allowed, but only under special laws. A big exception to all of these points of course is Pachinko. Legally not seen as gambling, these randomized games are played with small metal bearings as currency for playing at the machines, but are also awarded as prizes. So legally, players buy metal bearings to win metal bearings. To frightening extent, as experts estimate nearly 200 billion US dollars having been spent on pachinko in 2018 alone.

• How do players derive their sense of success then? Simple: Bringing your pachinko balls back to the counter will end up in you being given a receipt.  Now you get to take the receipt to another shop a few doors down and exchange it for prizes. This way players were never awarded cash prizes, the pachinko shop owners did not commit any illegal acts and players still get to win something.

• Gambling in China is illegal in all forms, this includes online casinos. Chinese citizens with a hankering for some casino games usually travel to regions like Hong Kong or Macau or resort to offshore proxy betting. The only consideration the Chinese government has made regarding this was state-run lottery systems, for which advertising has been made legal.

• Gambling has become a serious problem in Australia. It's been estimated that more than 80 % of the adult population participate in some form of gambling every month, which is the highest rate of gambling in the world currently. Depending on the territory, the statistics become even more significant. In 2008 the Central Coast Gaming Help surveyed young people aged 13 - 24 and found 96% of them had gambled for money or possessions already. The Commonwealth has since formed several regulatory bodies on the state and territoriy level to help with these issues. Seveal pieces of legislation have also been introduced in the past 20 years.

• Gambling in Brazil is set to see explosive growth in the next few years. A new law passed in 2018 has opened land-based and online sport betting country-wide for further legislation. Previously, almost all forms of gambling had been prohibited for more than 70 years, with the only exceptions being state-run lottery systems and horse-race betting. Funnily enough, card games like Poker are considered games of skill and therefore not illegal. With new legislation expected almost yearly and the ever-growing number of online operators, the Brazilian market is considered a dark horse worth more than £700 million a year.