Casino Laws in the World
The introduction of both brick-and-mortar and online gambling options has been the talk of the town in several countries across the world the past few years, with a number of bills already voted in 2017 and several more expected to be proposed this year. Below is a list of countries to see how easy it is to toss some bets in them, based on the existing gambling regulations and laws. We chose to focus on casino gambling in this article but, of course, for sports betting fans here’s an overview of sites offering the chance for the best bet in football.
- Europe
The biggest markets in Europe are Germany, Spain, and the UK – all of which have regulated and legalised gambling (both online betting and land-based casinos). The same applies to almost every European country, except for France and Iceland, where almost all forms of gambling are acceptable besides online casinos. Finally, there is Poland, Ukraine, Switzerland, Russia, and the Czech Republic that have banned online gambling, but only on paper. If you live in any of these countries, you may as well gamble in foreign websites.
- The USA
All forms of gambling are legalised and regulated in Mexico and Canada. The states of the northern US, though, appear somewhat divided. Nevada, New York, Illinois, Georgia, Delaware, and New Jersey are fine with the operations of online and land-based casinos while there are also several American online casinos that target the American market directly. Nevertheless, a plethora of online casinos do not accept American players. That doesn’t mean that you can’t play in the ones that do, even if your state has decided that online gambling is illegal (i.e. Indiana, Louisiana, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, or Montana).
The same scenario on the southern continent, with most of the countries legalising and regulating online gambling, including Peru, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and others not so fond of it (i.e. Brazil and Chile). Nonetheless, nobody will procedure you for playing in off-shore casinos, not even Ecuador, which has banned all forms of gambling.
- Africa
More that 30 of the 54 different African countries have legalised gambling. With over 40 casinos on South Africa alone, the biggest concern is whether you play in a licensed and regulated casino or not. The country’s National Gambling Board is particularly strict with illegal online activities and you may also face prison time if you get caught playing in an unregulated casino.
- Australia
Properly licensed and taxed online and land-based casinos have been legal in Australia since 1987. Today, there are six land-based casinos operating on its territory. Things are a bit different in New Zealand, though, where the landscape of online gambling remains blurry and players will not find locally hosted casinos to entertain themselves.
- The Middle East
Gambling is prohibited by the Quran in Islamic countries and you will get prosecuted if you get caught. The only exception is Dubai, which also hosts several casino resorts on its territory, alongside Egypt and Israel.
- Asia
The laws pertaining gambling in Asia differ from country to country. Singapore, China, India, and Thailand, for example, have outlawed gambling while Japan (a once fiercely anti-gambling country) allows land-based casinos.