The online gambling market is huge across the world. More than $56 billion is spent by people using online casinos each year. This is a vast amount of money, especially when you consider that online gambling is illegal in many countries.
So, what is the situation with the legality of online gambling? Which countries allow residents to take part and which countries have stricter laws?
North America
Despite being home to the famous gambling city of Las Vegas, North America has some of the strictest gambling rules around. This is especially the case in the USA where only the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware allow all forms of gambling, including online gambling.
The situation in Canada is slightly different as the laws are more relaxed. However, there are still some restrictions in place which mean that the majority of online bets in Canada are placed at offshore casinos. You can find out more information by looking at Canada’s guide for online betting.
Europe
In most parts of Europe the laws around online betting are relatively relaxed. The market is particularly large in Spain, Germany and the UK but other countries also have legalised gambling, including Portugal, Italy, Denmark and Austria.
The situation in France and Iceland is slightly different. In these countries, although land based gambling is perfectly legal there are laws which restrict or outlaw online gambling. Online gambling is also not permitted in countries such as Russia and the Czech Republic. However, many people do still gamble using foreign casino websites.
South America
Similar to what is happening in Europe, gambling laws in most South American countries are fairly relaxed. However, gambling is banned in Ecuador and people living in Brazil and Chile can only use foreign casino websites.
Africa
South Africa is one of the biggest gambling countries on the African continent. Although, it’s certainly not the only country that allows both offline and online betting. Amongst the other countries which have large markets are Kenya, Morocco, Uganda and Egypt. However, it’s very important for anyone who is gambling in Africa to choose a licensed casino. Failure to do so could result in serious legal issues.
Australia
Gambling rules are also fairly relaxed in Australia, as long as the casino that a person chooses to gamble at is licensed. In the neighboring country of New Zealand, the rules regarding online gambling are still being decided upon. However, people are able to gamble using foreign websites.
Middle East
In most parts of the Middle East gambling is illegal except if it’s for charity. This is due to the fact that countries in this region are predominantly Islamic. However, there are land based casinos in both Dubai and Israel.
You can see that the rules regarding gambling vary greatly around the world. However, the fact that gambling is not legal in all countries has not restricted the massive international gambling market so far, and there is nothing to suggest that the market will not continue to thrive.