Online Gambling Legality by Countries

There are two online gambling bans, and the first ban is for those gambling sites which are not registered in a certain jurisdiction and second is a blanket ban. Also, there is a scenario when online gambling is not banned completely, but legal situation is some countries are making online gambling regulation impossible. Therefore, countries like this with no adequate gambling situation are the so-called gray market areas.

There are much countries worldwide which do not place a ban, but they just restrict gambling operators which are not regulated by any jurisdiction. Sites without any gambling regulation are therefore restricted from accepting customers and advertising of any kind. There are also some countries which allow gambling operators, but only for residents and players from other countries are not allowed to play online games there such as online casinos located in Freeport and Cagayan Zone.

Online Gambling Laws in the European Union

In some countries of the European Union online gambling is still in a development state while in other countries online gambling is legal. There are also countries where online gambling is partially legalized, and only certain types of online gambling are allowed like online sportsbetting or online poker.

The online gambling industry in some countries is a very complex issue, and these countries in most cases impose restrictions on their residents. When it comes to the online gambling legality of countries which are part of the European Union and the Schengen area online gambling is legalized.For instance in Austria online betting is legalized, but there also some restrictions placed. The Austrian government issues licenses to operators which are located in the country, but this site only can accept Austrian residents.

Belgium is also part of the Schengen area and the European Union, and there online betting has been legal for fifteen years. The Belgium government restricted foreign online gambling operators, but there is a high-pressure form the EU to open up to the foreign market. Another example is Estonia where online gambling has been legalized since 2004 when first online gambling venues were established. The state-operated E-Lotto which provides state lottery and bingo and another online venue Spordiennstus which provide online casino games.

Finland regulated online gambling laws fifteen years ago, and since then only one gambling license can be operational at the same time. In fact, the state run their online gambling platform, and that is the only licensed operator. Countries such as Latvia, Malta, Slovakia and the United Kingdom also legalized online gambling many years ago and there this market is simply booming. On the other hand in countries like the Chech Republic, Greece, Norway and Sweden online gambling is partially legalized which means that only certain types of online gambling are allowed.