Whatever comes to your mind when the word gambling is mentioned, we are pretty sure it might be an interesting story to tell, since almost all of us know someone who at least tried or might be into some sort of a gambling game.
While it is certainly fun to visit that gambling hall or any sort of casino, excessive and uncontrolled gambling can also lead to behaviors that can have a negative impact on someone’s personal finances. Which is why this market is strongly regulated.
But Gambling was not just invented yesterday, it has existed for a long time. If we look back at history, the earliest gambling game recorded in 1400 is called Baccarat, a card game that is still played in casinos around the world.
These were the times when people gathered in a place and played face-to-face games, leaving their life in the hands of luck, despite honestly, sometimes it also took a lot of skill.
Recently, with technological advancements and people spending more time on the internet, the online gambling industry has also started to rise. Be it online sports betting, virtual poker, or blackjack, the gambling sector is growing fast day by day, as data from the European Gambling and Betting Association show.
But before getting into the gambling game online or in real life, it is always safer to learn about the laws and the jurisdiction of the country that you’re playing in since not all countries have the same regulations for gambling.
Oceania
In Oceania, the main gambling dominants are Australia and New Zealand. Gambling operators in New Zealand and Australia need to have a license regulated by state and territory authorities and other legal regulators, in order to be allowed to perform their gambling activities lawfully. These authorities control users and gambling operators and prevent any sort of illegal attempt in terms of gambling services, including unregistered cash flows or any kind of money laundering.
There are usually two types of licenses, a gaming venue and a permit for each gaming machine, or an overarching casino permission which includes all the gaming machines inside the casino. Poker and bingo are typically permitted even outside a casino, and so are most online horse bettings and any type of sports wagers.
As mentioned, countries in Oceania are quite strict with their gambling industry legislation, therefore if you want to try to play in a safe and legal casino, it is better to do a little previous research. On Gambling.com for example you can find impartial reviews and recommendations, with many interesting bonus programs, online casinos, and sports betting.
America
Many forms of gambling in America such as lotteries, pari-mutuel gambling on horse races, sports betting, and casinos, are regulated by legislation at both the state and federal levels. In general, gambling in the US is permitted in 48 of the 50 American states (the exceptions are Utah and Hawaii). In most states the practice of gambling is regulated under the specific laws of each state.
In Nevada, with its well-known casino city Las Vegas, gambling is permitted almost everywhere. On the other hand, despite gambling being legal in North Carolina, if you want to host a bingo event, you can only do it twice a week, but you can’t organize it two days in a row.
The age of a person that can play a gambling game also varies. While in most states one can enter a casino when 18 or older, in some other countries you have to be 21 to get inside a legalized gambling zone. Whereas, online gambling regulations are much stricter in most states. Residents of Mississippi must physically be on the casino’s premises, in order to legally bet on online sports. Whereas, in some other US states while online gambling such as poker or any kind of casino games are available to the general public, mobile betting is allowed only on the premises of the casino.
Canada
Almost all forms of gambling are legal in Canada, but there are quite tight regulations regarding online gambling. It is almost impossible for online casino providers to get permission from the government to run a gambling website, this is why the interested operators turn to other offshore countries where there are no such prohibitions.
Europe
Games such as casinos, poker, and types of betting are legal in most European countries. Most European countries permit gambling to be played land-based and online included, only with a license that can have its own restrictions and limitations.
In some countries gambling is controlled through state monopoly, which is the case in Norway and Switzerland, where each state has its own assigned commission or credible authority which regulates the gambling activities within that country. Whereas Poland has strict rules regarding gambling activities, permitting only sports betting and nothing else.
Germany has also changed its gambling laws recently. There is no outline framework for all German states that includes regulation throughout the whole country, it is merely a matter of state. Despite having an EU license, to operate as a gambling provider in Germany, you will still need to have a license from the state where you are planning to perform your gambling activity.
The same authorities are responsible to make sure the legal framework is respected and the vulnerable consumers are protected. This is why they set certain requirements for a gambling provider, be it online or local.
For example, if you play gambling online, there will be notifications to warn a player that he has already spent a lot of time playing, or he is spending a lot of money. There is also a list of blacklisted sites that are forbidden and if, for example, people from Belgium play on such sites, there will be a hefty fine to pay.
UK
Gambling in the UK is also widespread with activities such as bingo, casinos, lotteries, and sports wagers played by a big part of the population. These activities inside the UK are regulated by the gambling commission on behalf of the government, where they update the legal framework, including a feature to protect minors and vulnerable consumers.
In most countries of the world, gambling has been legalized also because of the revenues it brings to the state through taxes. However, there are still grey areas that remain “neutral” towards such activities, despite that they continue to happen in the black market, they are not regulated through legal frameworks.
