Gambling Laws Around the World

Gambling Laws in Kenya30 Aug 2022

Child Gambling Laws18 Aug 2022

Europe Gambling Laws6 Aug 2022

Mexico Gambling Laws7 May 2022

Philippines Gambling Laws30 Apr 2022

Montana Gaming Commission16 Apr 2022

Gambling App Laws29 Mar 2022

Loot Boxes15 Mar 2022

Belgium Gambling Laws8 Mar 2022

Pennsylvania Gambling Commission1 Mar 2022

Gambling Legislation in Europe – Where Is It Safe to Gamble?

Gambling in the old continent has gone through a lot of changes which led to reforms in the existing laws, in turn, delineating a number of countries with regulated markets. Numbered among the major gambling hotspots in Europe are the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain – where both casino and sports betting are thriving. In countries like Germany, where sports betting takes centre stage, the legislation defining this aspect of gambling may even precede the law governing online and land-based casinos.

Slots and other forms of gambling have been legal in the United Kingdom since 1961. The gambling laws in the UK are flexible enough to permit individuals at least 18 years of age to play games of chance and bet on sports. When it comes to downloading casino apps, age is even lower. Meanwhile, it cannot be denied that a very high standard for responsible gambling is maintained throughout. The promotion of organisations such as BeGambleAware is mandatory for the best licensed roulette sites in the UK.

Partly due to the fact it’s not part of the European Union, Turkey’s interpretation of the matter and gambling laws are different than, say the UK and Germany. In Turkey, the opportunity to place wagers is much narrower but still exists. That was just a handful of countries as compared to the full list of licensed operators in Europe. We have reviewed the European online casinos in the following countries:

The situation in some of the smaller European countries like Luxembourg is such that gaming is only partially legalised. In Luxembourg, games of chance cannot be played online, while sports betting and lottery fans have got the green light to play online. Iceland has a similar stance with only brick-and-mortar casinos having permission to operate. Partial bans exist in Italy, Cyprus, France, Poland. Though this post is about the countries where gambling is legal, we decided to put the information out there and hopefully convince you to double-check what the laws are in your country of residence.

Legal Status of Gambling in North America

When it comes to whether online casino and sports should be available to the public, it seems increasingly unlikely the USA, Canada, and Mexico will ever find common ground. That’s why we are going to look at the gambling laws by country. We’ll take a closer look at the gambling laws of these three countries.

In each of the three countries, different factors come into play to impede or further the expansion of online gambling. In the following paragraphs we provide individual explanation and analysis of the state of affairs in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. That should give you a sense of the general direction things are going in each of the three countries.

US Gambling Laws

It’s kind of hard to wrap your head around the gambling laws in the United States given that the Supreme Court has placed the responsibility for the creation of such in the hands of the individual states. This essentially means that there will be states, like New Jersey, where all forms of gambling are permitted, while, at the same time, in other states, they will be hard banned. Pennsylvania is another state to follow suit quickly after New Jersey. Here’s a brief overview of the history of gambling in the United States.

The online gambling market in the country is still far from full-fledged, but we have committed to follow the developments in that direction and inform you timely. The fight is, obviously, for online gambling, since there’s no shortage of land-based casinos and resorts throughout the country. If you want to know all the intricate details of it, as well as, how to find trusted online roulette casinos in the USA head over to our guide.

Canada Gambling Laws

The gambling laws of Canada regarding the online sector of it aren’t a very pliable tool to work with if you are a local operator. Yes, you got that right, as it stands, only offshore casino providers can ever be compliant with the law. This isn’t a big loss for the government budget as these firms, although based abroad, are still paying hefty taxes.

What’s left for the Canadian bettor though? To avoid confusion, your best bet is still to trust licensing authorities such as the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. Keep an eye out for the stamp of approval of this or other trusted licensing authorities for the territory of Canada and bear in mind that provinces have the legal right to appoint their regulators.

Gambling Laws in Mexico

Despite the Catholic Church pretty much hamstringing the whole idea of developing a gambling industry, the local favourites cockfighting, lottery, and sports betting remain part of the everyday life in Mexico. While not deeply grounded in the culture, bingo and Pari-Mutuel are also available if you look hard enough.

The thing with online gambling laws in Mexico is that the rules are not ones imposed by strict regulation. While The Ministry through the Bureau is the entity regulating poker, bingo, casino, and betting, it has no analogue when it comes to the digital form of these activities. What you need to know is that, by and large, tourists can visit casinos located in Mexico, while locals prefer to play at offshore casino sites. All the efforts of the government to block the access to such sites have fallen on stony ground so far.

Gambling Laws in Asia

When playing at Asian casino sites, you should tread because if you divide the pertaining gambling laws by country, you’ll see they are very different. The laws differ in between jurisdictions and there are even penalties in some Muslim countries. Research is of utmost importance – don’t take anything at face value. It is a good start as we will attempt to shed light on how bettors based in Asia can place bets responsibly and legally so long as the law allows for that. We have in-depth guides for each of the countries listed below. Let’s first look at the list of Asian countries where gambling is legal:

We’d like to briefly comment on why you don’t see China, Japan, and Taiwan in the list. In Japan, for the longest time, there wasn’t a clear distinction between the legal and illegal gambling markets. Currently, only some types of sports betting and lottery are available online.

Taiwan was compelled by the Criminal Code of Republic of China to shut down all gambling in the country. Only lotteries are legal as per the gambling laws there. There are very slim chances of finding sports betting operators that serve Taiwanese punters, but the good thing is that the government is not clamping down on those! China’s transformative effect on Taiwan’s gambling laws is analogous to the situation with the countries from the Middle West. Of course, being the catalyst for that change, China had also outlawed gambling a long ago.

The list of Asian countries in which gambling is illegal:

Gambling in the Middle East

The inflexible view of games of chance has led to the ban, imposed by gambling law, of land-based casinos and online casinos in most countries in the Middle East. Strangely enough, however, that doesn’t seem to be the case with Egypt, Israel and Dubai where multiple big casinos are based. In any case, though, you shouldn’t take any chances with finding out where the limits of the gambling law and Sharia law lie, as perpetrators could be facing heavy fines and even jail time.

Despite the grim-looking situation, there is light at the end of the tunnel for bettors residing somewhere in the Middle East. There are at least three respected online roulette casinos in Pakistan that we could think of, so our guide is worth checking! There’s one more thing you should know if you are a Pakistani sports fan. The 1977 Gambling Prevention Act leaves a lot of room for interpretation when it comes to how it applies to online sports betting. The Act was created at a day and age when online gambling wasn’t still even conceptualised yet. For more information, read our expert reviews factoring in the gambling laws in the following countries:

Gambling Laws in Africa

Africa’s gambling laws have adapted to accommodate the want for sports betting as more and more African sports stars become ambassadors of big betting companies. Since casino and betting on sports are inevitably intertwined, the online casino was introduced to the public not long ago also in the confines of the regulated market. Ticking all boxes, Africa even has its very own National Gambling Board that supervises the industry and ensures compliance with the gambling law on all levels.

There has been no major hindrance taking the winds out of the sails of the rapid expansion that occurred in recent years in Africa. Nowadays, the majority of African countries have established some form of legal gambling markets be it casino or sports betting. The land-based casinos in South Africa alone are over 40. In Ghana – around 20. The real story, however, is about remote gambling and how quickly it was adopted by the African players. We have exhausted the topic in a series of Africa online casino guides that you may look at for more information. These are the countries we are sure gambling is legal as we’ve reviewed the laws and availability of operators there.

Gambling Laws in Australia, New Zealand and Oceania

Fewer and fewer reputable casino operators accept Aussie players due to the changes introduced by the Interactive Gambling Bill of 2017. The situation is a far cry from what it used to be in the recent past when sports betting, poker rooms and casino games were readily available both online and in licensed venues. However, the recurring issue of problem gambling spurred the new gambling law into existence. The good news is that online lottery is safe to dabble with if you are up for it. Other than that, there’s not much else you can do in terms of placing wagers.

In the face of the thinning number of land-based casinos in New Zealand, online gambling is picking up just wonderfully! The best roulette casinos in New Zealand boast very competitive welcome offers in local currency and the players are generally quite okay with it. We have reviewed a good deal of those operators and know that their quality of service measures up. The list of Oceania countries whose gambling laws allow for online casino are:

South America’s Gambling Laws

South America can be likened to Africa in that it takes a rather liberal stance on gaming in all of its various forms. Be that as it may, we still need to look at the gambling laws by country to get the full picture. Since there are quite a few South American countries, we’ll discuss just the biggest markets on the continent.

Argentina is probably the biggest country on the continent with a well-regulated gambling industry, followed by Peru, Panama, the Dominical Republic, and Costa Rica. Not that Chile and Brazil bettors would have problems visiting offshore online casinos. As is the case with many countries banning brick-and-mortar casino venues, online gaming still remains a viable option.

Ecuador, on the other hand, has been one of the countries with least tolerance for land-based casinos. An outright ban of all casino establishments followed soon after the election of Rafael Correa as president. Even so, the gambling law is still unclear as to where on the scale does online casino stand. We try to answer this and other questions concerning the gambling laws and operators of several countries located in South America. You can lean on them if you’re looking for approved operators where to play online roulette.

Frequently Asked Questions About Gambling Laws

With an issue as convoluted as legislation, very often we receive a barrage of questions from our readers. This time is no different. Below are the most commonly asked questions regarding the topic. We’ll touch on the key points about the gambling laws around the world one more time and hopefully provide the answers you are looking for.