Gambling in Different Countries

Published by Brett Chatz on August 29, 2023

In many people’s minds, gambling is a relatively modern invention. In all fairness, there is a lot of reasons one might believe that. Most of the games that we find at casinos today are relatively recent, having been created in the 18th or 19th century. In fact, the first casino itself was not opened until the 16th century. All of these factors go into making many believe that gambling is a modern phenomenon. However, that could not be further from the truth.

Archeologists have discovered dice made of bone, wood, and stone, that they’ve dated back to Ancient Mesopotamia. In other words, the oldest human civilization that we are aware of had dice, that most historians believe were primarily used for gambling. There are written records referencing games of chance, that date back to Ancient Greece, as well. So, gambling is not a modern invention, but has always been a part of human nature.

Knowing that gambling has always been inherent to humans helps us in understanding why every country in the world has their own unique outlook on the phenomenon. Some have embraced it, and have imposed strict regulations to make a safer market. Others have elected to ban it all together, believing that it is risky to regulate such an industry. There are also those that have not imposed any laws on gambling, and have allowed casinos to thrive unrestrained. In this text, we would like to examine the different approaches to gambling found worldwide.

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Licensing and Regulation

Licensing should be your top concern when visiting online casinos. Licenses are issued by well-known and trusted authorities, whose job it is to review casinos, and ensure that everything they are doing is on the up and up. Every country in which gambling is legal has a commission dedicated to reviewing the various platforms, be they land-based or online. If they find that there are issues with the games, or that the casino has trouble paying out for whatever reason, they don’t issue a permit, and the business must fix their issues before re-submitting for review.

There are also those countries that forbid online casinos to operate within their borders, but don’t necessarily have any laws against people playing at online casinos. We will tackle this issue further in the article. But for now, we only want to address the existence of offshore gambling. It is possible for players to access casinos whose headquarters exist outside of the country they are found in. These are called offshore casinos, and their certifications come from the country in which they were founded. While most players prefer domestic licenses, studies have shown that offshore ones are just as safe, and even come with a few benefits.

However, it is fair to say there are untrustworthy offshore documents. Plenty of countries don’t have a very strict or stringent system for issuing gambling permits. That is why it is important to understand which internationally-valid commissions are the most reliable. The Malta Gaming Association, for example, is a world-class organization, that has licensed a lot of very well-known and respected gambling platforms. The United Kingdom Gambling Commission is another such licensing organization; whose casinos have a stellar reputation. Finally, the Curacao Gambling Board’s success with respected casinos is also famous worldwide. Apart from licensing, there are other ways to discover whether a casino is safe and reliable. However, looking for a license should always be the first step. Without a license, a casino cannot be trusted to fulfill its obligation. However, once you’ve discovered a licensed gambling website, you can also go over the online reviews, discuss it on forums, check out their security and safety measures, and study their bonus terms in detail, to determine whether said casino is the best option for you.

Online vs. Land-based Gambling

In the gambling world, there are two distinct industries that have managed to rise to the top. The first is land-based gambling, which has been around as a modern industry since the 17th century. As you can probably gather, land-based gambling refers to the industry of gambling establishments that you can physically visit. As a practical example, we can take Las Vegas, Macau, or Monte Carlo. In the centuries since their introduction, brick-and-mortar shops have managed to become a multi-billion-dollar industry.

For online casinos, the timeframe to grow was not so long. They were first introduced in the 1990s, and already, they are generating billions. While they are not as successful as their land-based predecessors, they are slowly catching up. Indeed, many experts believe that they may overtake land-based casinos very soon. The question we have, however, is not which one is superior or more popular, but rather, how are they regulated around the world.

There are three possibilities for regulation when it comes to online casinos and land-based casinos. One is that both are legal, in which case residents of said country can enjoy visiting their local brick-and-mortar gambling halls, as well as spend their nights spinning slots on their electronic devices at home. The second is that online casinos are banned, but land-based casinos are legal. Cases like these are quite common, and usually spring up due to a misguided distrust of the internet, and evolving technologies.

Finally, there is the option that both land-based and online casinos are banned. In countries where this is the case, residents are not allowed to gamble at all, even at offshore casinos. While many do find ways to access gambling establishments (be they online or land-based), they are doing so in direct defiance of the law. We would recommend avoiding gambling if your country’s laws prohibit the practice. But, with that out of the way, it is important that we look at the gambling laws that exist around the world, and get a better understanding of them.

Legal Online Casinos

We figured we would start with the simplest one to address, that being places where online casinos are legal, and regulated. There are plenty of countries where it is just as legal to visit an online casino, as it is to play casino games at a land-based establishment. Usually, these countries are the ones that impose the strictest and most stringent regulation on the industry, which naturally leads to a safer environment for everyone involved. Indeed, it has been shown that legalizing and regulating the gambling market results in a lessened risk of gambling addiction.

As an example, we can take the United Kingdom, which is a country famous for having the most developed online gambling industry on the market. Residents and visitors to the UK can play casino games at land-based or online establishments. However, all of the establishments that they visit are ones that have been reviewed by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, which as we mentioned before, is one of the most reliable licensing organizations in the world. In other words, if you are playing at online casinos in the UK, you can be sure that they are legitimate.

Illegal Online Casinos

On the opposite side of the coin are those countries that have completely banned online casinos. However, it is important that we make a delineation between governments that have issued bans for online gambling, and those that have banned gambling in general. The former may have put laws into place in the 1990s and early 2000s, when the iGaming market was just getting off the ground. During those times, online casinos were not the safest, and countries needed quick and easy solutions to the issue. Banning, at the time, seemed like the best bet.

However, over time, the iGaming industry has become a lot safer. We may see countries like New Zealand change their stance on online casinos, and create regulations for the market. On the other hand, there are countries that have banned all forms of gambling, including online. These governments may have done so with moral, cultural, or religious motives in mind. If that is the case, then it is very unlikely that much will change, at least in the foreseeable future. An example here would be much of the Middle East, as well as China, where gambling is only legal in the region of Macau.

Semi-Legal or Legal Grey Areas

Finally, we have to discuss the most complicated aspect of online gambling, which is places where internet casinos exist in a legal grey area. You see, there are plenty of countries that have issued bans on online casinos. However, nowhere in their laws does it state that residents are barred from gambling online. Only that they cannot gamble on websites whose headquarters are located in their own country. This is where offshore casinos come in.

In the United States, for example, only six states have legalized online gambling. However, in many of the remaining 44, residents are still able to access casinos that are headquartered in the Caribbean nations, the United Kingdom, Malta, or the rest of Europe. Now, it is important to note that the laws in the USA differ from state to state. Some states may not have a problem with residents playing at offshore casinos, while others have placed total bans. That is why, we recommend going over your state’s laws on gambling in detail, and making sure you are following proper protocols.

The Benefits of a Legal Market

For years, politicians, lobbyists, and even laymen have been debating the merits of a legal gambling market. While some are convinced that bans are an effective tool against the spreading of certain behaviors, others believe that it is impossible to curb forms of entertainment using prohibition. One of the most common arguments that proponents of legalizing gambling give is that people are doing it whether it is banned or not. Therefore, the best choice is to give them the safest option possible.

In this case, the safest option is a strictly regulated, legal, gambling market. A lot of practical examples, as well as studies bear this out. In places where gambling is legal, people are much less likely to fall victims to online scams, identity fraud, and financial debt. On top of that, regulated casinos have a duty to show that they’ve taken measures against the spread of compulsive gambling, and are often partnered with organizations dedicated to supporting those that have fallen victim to it.

There is also a benefit that many politicians might be able to understand, that being the economic advantage. If a government ensures a safe and regulated gambling market, many casino operators will open headquarters within the nation’s borders. Not only does that mean these businesses will be subject to tax returns, but it will also create job opportunities for local communities, driving up employment, and creating a better standard for living. The UK iGaming market alone is worth a couple of dozen billions, with many experts believing it will continue to grow in the next couple of years.

Finally, there are plenty of lobbyists who believe in the innate freedoms of the population, especially in the United States, where freedom is seen as the highest right. These are the people who believe that, even if legal gambling would be troublesome, that each individual person should have the right to choose whether they expose themselves to a risk. The “freedom argument” posits that we all should be free to take any risks we like, so long as it only affects us.

Conclusion

If gambling is as innate to human nature as the facts seem to bear out, then people are going to do it, whether governments like it or not. In that case, it is much better to create a safe and reliable market, with stringent regulations put into place to protect the population. It seems that most of the world’s governments are agreeing with that approach. Already, many have repealed anti-gambling laws, which were put in place in the 1990s.

On the other hand, we’ve also seen the benefits of a legal market, outside of safety. iGaming is a hot new trend in the world of entertainment, with the UK industry alone generating billions of dollars every year. Most countries want to capitalize on rising trends, which is another factor for why we may see a lot of them legalizing gambling practices in the years to come. Certainly, that is good news for those who are interested in spinning reels or playing the occasional card game at a casino.

Author : Brett Chatz

A Worldwide leading content writer for casinofy.com, Brett brings a decade of expertise in the online casino realm to his articles. Merging a deep understanding of industry trends with his writing prowess, he delivers insightful and engaging content.