Suppose you were asked, “what is the most disreputable industry or sector on the planet?” Chances are high that you would say it’s the gambling industry. The legislation surrounding gambling sites (for example, 바카라사이트) is pretty complicated, especially for first-timers.
Most of the time, people who want to open a new or develop an existing online gambling project often ask questions like: which market should I enter or target? And where is the licensing procedure needed?
Are you concerned about the legal process surrounding online gambling? Well, if that’s the case for you, you don’t have to worry anymore. We have compiled a list of countries that allow online gambling, including the states where gaming site activities are subject to specific requirements and legally regulated. You’ll also be able to find countries where online gambling activities are not prohibited or regulated on the list.
Where is online gambling legal?
Based on different regulation approaches, all countries in the world fall into four groups depending on where online gambling is specifically regulated, legal, or forbidden.
Countries where online casinos are legal
For countries in this category, no local legal requirements are applied to foreign gambling sites. Here, a foreign gambling site can be licensed by any jurisdiction or even choose to operate without one.
Europe – Cyprus, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Czech Republic, Iceland
Asia – Azerbaijan, Yemen, Brunei, Uzbekistan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Qatar, Kyrgyz Republic, Malaysia, Laos
Africa – Nigeria, Eritrea
North America – Mexico, Cayman Islands, El Salvador
South America – Brazil
Oceania – New Zealand, American Samoa, Guam, Australia
Countries that require a local regulator’s license
Countries in this category use the most competent approach to gambling regulation. Here, each operator, whether foreign or local, must purchase a license following specific legal requirements.
The conditions are equal for everyone. They are all obliged to pay taxes to the budget. Only when they do all that can they be allowed to act legally otherwise, the online resource will be shut down or blocked.
Africa – Reunion Island, Ethiopia, Mayotte
Asia – Sri Lanka, Georgia
Europe – United Kingdom, Austria, Spain, Belgium, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Croatia, Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, Estonia, Germany, Finland, France
North America – US Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Martin, Guadeloupe, Saint Barthelemy, Martinique, Panama
South America – French Guiana, Falkland Islands
Oceania – Wallis and Futuna, New Caledonia, French Polynesia
Countries that require local regulator’s license only from local gambling sites
Just like in the first group, the countries in this category do not need legal requirements from foreign sites. A foreign site can have any licence in any jurisdiction while local operators must pass through licensing procedure with the regulator and pay tax to local budgets.
Africa – Seychelles, Comoros, Rwanda, Gambia, Mauritius, Guinea
Asia – Armenia
Europe – Switzerland, Greece, Sweden, Hungary, Slovenia, Ireland, San Marino, Latvia, Montenegro, Lithuania, Norway, Macedonia, Monaco, Moldova
North America – Greenland, Aruba, Dominican Republic, Canada, Dominica, Curacao
Oceania – Vanuatu, Fiji
Countries without restrictions on gambling sites
In countries where online gambling is legal, a large number of them do not regulate gambling activities at all.
Africa – Zimbabwe, Angola, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Cape Verde, Burundi, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Congo, Chad, Benin, Egypt, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ghana, Lesotho, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Mali, Malawi, Madagascar, Sao Tome and Principe, Niger, Namibia, Mozambique, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Tanzania, Swaziland, Uganda, Tunisia, Togo, Zambia
Asia – Tajikistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Macau, Mongolia, India
Europe – Malta, Albania, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Kosovo, Belarus, Isle of Man, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar
North America – Turks and Caicos, Bahamas, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Bermuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Djibouti, Jamaica, Grenada, Honduras, Guatemala, Haiti
South America – Venezuela, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Trinidad and Tobago, Chile, Suriname, Ecuador, Paraguay, Guyana
Oceania – Tonga, Cook Islands, East Timor, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Micronesia, Samoa, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Northern Mariana Islands, Republic of Palau
Note: Some counties in the first category see online gambling as illegal. For example, gambling is totally prohibited on the Cayman Islands territory, and residents or indigenes who participate in gambling activities are criminally liable.
In summary
- 32 countries prevent locals from operating without a license but foreign gambling sites can offer their services freely to residents without restrictions.
- 32 countries forbid all gambling operators in the country both foreign and local, from operating in the country without a local license.
- 27 countries ban residents from gambling and block the sites of local operators in the country. However, in these countries, foreign gambling platforms can operate freely even when they don’t have a license.
- 93 countries do not license or ban online casinos.