Gambling Jurisdictions - An Overview

March 01, 2009 | Article Category: Gaming Law

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Online gambling is legal in some jurisdictions, and illegal in others. First and foremost, it is very important for players to ensure that they are playing legally. Should players who live in a jurisdiction where online gambling is considered illegal choose to play in an online casino that is legal in another area, they might find that receiving payouts is a problem. In a jurisdiction where online gambling is considered to be illegal, payouts for online gambling could be confiscated from the winning player. On the other hand, an online casino may refuse to make a payout if the player in question is not playing legally, as with players who are underage.

There are a number of jurisdictions the world over who regulate and give licenses to online casinos. Antigua and Barbuda, Costa Rica, Gibraltar, Kahnawake, Netherlands Antilles the United Kingdom and Malta are the jurisdictions that have the largest numbers of online casinos registered.

Some of the larger companies who register online gambling sites ban the companies registered on their soil from promoting their online casinos and other gambling sites to their own citizens. The companies are of course encouraged to market their sites to international gamblers. Jurisdictions that follow this policy include Antigua, Costa Rica, Australia and Australian territories and the Isle of Man amongst others.

By preventing their own citizens from taking part in online gambling, the jurisdictions are able to prevent dealing with any problems and social issues that can occur in connection with online gambling, and in fact gambling in any form. On the negative side of gambling, social and financial problems caused by their citizens becoming addicted to gambling can be avoided. On the other hand, the jurisdictions are able to generate additional income through taxes and fees. Jobs are also created because online gambling sites usually need to appoint a local citizen to act on their behalf, not to mention the employees who are needed to process and deal with online casinos from applications right through to regular running costs.

Gambling laws in various countries can have far-reaching affects around the world. One well-known example of far-reaching affects is highlighted by the situation that arose between the United States and Antigua and Barbuda. The current United States gambling laws do not allow online casinos to operate from their own country, and even went as far as to ban their citizens from playing on any online gambling sites which were licensed and registered in Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Barbuda complained to the Word Trade Organization (WTO) saying that the United States law had violated the WTO's General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). This seems somewhat discriminatory since the United States allows other online gambling, such as horse racing, from their own country.

A second example can be seen in the European Union. While some countries, such as France, have not outlawed online gambling for their citizens, they have outlawed online casinos from operating from within France's borders. Italy has tried to block IP addresses and all online gambling sites that are registered outside of Italy to ensure that their citizens play only in Italian online casinos. Both these counties have been censured by the European Union as this violates the free trade that is expected between EU member countries.