Since the beginnings of online gambling, this area of gambling has been very difficult to regulate. While it’s very easy to impose laws on the physical objects of casinos and bookmakers, when the operators are located in other countries, the laws of your country do not apply to anyone playing at their website. This is why many operators register their companies in some countries where laws do not exist or are much less strict than in some countries.
If you simply want to play and place some bets as an individual, then you don’t have to worry. Even if online gambling is prohibited in your country, the governments usually do not punish individuals as long as they play at an online operator which is based in another country. However, the situation is different if you want to open your own online gambling business. In that case, going into details about all the gambling regulations and laws would be the recommended course of action.
For a regular person, though, here is a quick overview of the differences in some of the countries:
In the US, it’s not legal to place bets or play casino games on websites which are based in the US. However, if you find a gambling site that is located outside the United States, that makes it legal for you to play online.
In the UK, online gambling is regulated by the Gambling Commission, and this body is the only one which can grant a licence to an operator in the United Kingdom. Of course, there are many well-known bookmakers who have their operations offshore.
In Germany, operating an online gambling business is strictly prohibited, but placing bets and playing casino games is something that many people do, and they do not have any legal repercussions. However, all German people need to play at non-German operators.
In France, everything is legal. Whether you want to play casino games, card games, bet on sports and racing, you can find a host of both licensed and unlicensed sites. Since everything is allowed, the country imposes high taxes and many regulations, which makes many operators and players look elsewhere.
In China, online gambling is allowed, but is very closely regulated by the government and the regulations are constantly being changed. All players must have accounts and also deposits and withdrawals need to have a limit. Also, all operators need to have an Online Internet Culture license in order to be legal.
As you can see, there are different opinions on how online gambling should be regulated, and the situation is always changing. Be sure to keep up and follow the news if you are interested in playing and placing your bets online.
There is much talk about the future of online gambling and how it should be regulated. Some people even propose that it should not be regulated at all since regulating is impossible and only gives the players a false sense of security. What are your opinions on this, how would you like to see the world of online gambling change in the future?
