The popularity of online gambling is growing on a global scale, there are new virtual institutions, with a mass of entertainment software. Many countries have already legalized this type of activity, receiving legal deductions to the budget. For example, online casino Cyprus brings its state a considerable part of revenue, having received a permit to work in the network. Others are only looking at the possible relaxation of legal norms. And there are some countries where gambling is still under strict prohibition. Players in such countries have to look for workarounds to gain access to gambling entertainment. At this time, the regulatory authorities put a lot of effort and resources to block prohibited sites, track new domains.

In general, the advantages of legalization of online casinos and gambling are appreciated by many authorities. After all, state and local budgets receive a lot of money, which can be sent to the development of the economy, social programs. The main thing is to exercise careful control over gambling establishments, to monitor the situation with ludomania and visiting such sites by minors. If countries approach the question competently and develop the necessary acts – it will be possible to create a mutually beneficial cooperation of all parties.

Countries Where Online Gambling Is Allowed

All players on all continents are confronted with permits and bans. Each continent has many countries with their own national, legislative and mental peculiarities. As for the gambling business, all states can be divided into several categories:

Group	Countries
Those where casinos are not blocked for certain reasons. This does not mean that their activities are allowed, but the domains work without blocking and they are visited by all comers	Azerbaijan, Brunei, Hong Kong, Japan, Nigeria, Malaysia, Cyprus, Brazil, etc.
Mandatory availability of a license from the local regulator. This means that in order to be legalized, it is necessary to apply to the authorities for a permit	Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Georgia, Ethiopia, Panama, etc.
Only local companies are required to have a license, and foreign companies can operate without it	Guinea, Armenia, Norway, Canada, Vanuatu, Aruba, Belize, Curaçao, Dominica, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland
No restrictions for any company	Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Macao, India, Jamaica, Venezuela, etc.

Let’s look at the top ten countries where gambling is allowed at the state level. 

United Kingdom

The online gambling industry is legal, and since 2003, the Secretary of Culture has initiated amendments to legalize a greater range of services. Regulatory bodies, namely the Gambling Commission and Licensing Committees, issue licenses for online clubs, regulating sites for betting, bingo, slots, and lotteries. 

The existence of a license is mandatory, and they are issued to both local and foreign operators on the basis of the Gambling Act 2005. Citizens of the country have access to all kinds of online entertainment, and the budget receives tax payments, which annually amount to about 13 billion euros.

Germany

There are certain restrictions that apply to online activities here. While land-based establishments are legalized, online entertainment is only available in the north of the country, in the federal district of Schleswig-Holstein. Since 2012, it has its own rules allowing online gambling services, and licenses are issued to companies. However, only users residing or located in this region can play legally.

USA

The United States refers to the countries with partial authorization of interactive gambling entertainment. Land-based casinos are legal in most states, and online gambling can only be played from the states of Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware. Some other states are in the process of revising outdated laws, aided by a new law that came out in 2012 that allows casinos in some states.  

It is worth noting that the bans did not directly affect the developers of gaming software, their work is not limited by anything, so the companies are actively developing. These include such famous brands as IGT, WMS Gaming, Genesis Gaming.

Despite the slow implementation of the new law, the experts consider the great prospects in the development of gambling business on the Internet.

Malta

The Republic is a small island state where all types of gambling business are allowed by law. Regulator of land-based and online casinos is the service MGA, which is subordinate to the state.  

As for the licenses, most companies note the ease of obtaining them, and there are no restrictions on the number of issued documents. There are several types of licenses, divided into classes:

• the first one is for online casinos, including slots and table games;
• the second – is for bookmaker’s offices and other companies that accept bets;
• the third – provides legalization of poker rooms, lotteries;
• The fourth is necessary for providers, equipment suppliers and software

According to statistics, about 10% of all casinos in the world work under Maltese licenses, and annual income to the budget of the country amounts to 11% of GDP.

Austria

Conducting gambling business in the country is carried out on a legal basis, meanwhile, all 15 types of licenses that are issued by the regulator belong to Casinos Austria AG, which is a monopolist. The company’s activity is regulated by several legislative acts, including Austrian Civil Code and E-Commerce Act. 

Online gambling mainly refers to lotteries and betting, but Greentube slots are also popular, which is located directly in the state. Other well-known brands such as Amatic, APEX Gaming Technology, Rabcat are also present.

Despite some difficulties in obtaining permits by foreign companies, the law does not prohibit their activities, although it makes the process very complicated. The gambling business in the country is developing, attracting new companies by taking them over by a monopolist.

Gibraltar

A small state is located on the Mediterranean coast, so it is an attractive region for tourism. Despite the fact that the territory is subordinate to Britain, the development and regulation of gambling business here goes its own way. Loyalty to all types of gambling and betting and also low taxes, simplicity of getting license attract many companies for legalization of business. 

Becoming under the jurisdiction of Gibraltar, online casinos receive permits by paying a minimal fee. Due to the fact that the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner regulator requires responsible attitude and compliance with all norms of the law, the platforms with the license of this country belong to the trusted casino online.

More than 40 major companies have become Gibraltar’s licensees, including well-known brands iTech Labs, NetEnt, Yggdrasil Gaming, Blueprint Technologies. They can work both on the national market, providing their software to users, as well as in the EU countries.

Denmark

Danes can freely spend time in online halls, staying within the legal framework. Here, gambling is fully allowed, both land-based and online. If before 1990 all kinds of gambling were monopolized by the state, then later a law came out allowing private companies to operate. 

The gambling industry brings considerable revenue to the country’s budget, which amounted to 1.2 billion dollars in 2006. And about $500 million of them came from online platforms, which are becoming more and more successful.

The activities of land and online institutions are regulated by the Department of Justice – Danish Gambling Authority, on the basis of the main document – the Act on Gambling. 

Most Danish visitors to virtual sites prefer slot machines. Then comes poker, followed by other card games. No licensing is required to hold poker tournaments, because such an event is considered to be a sports one.

France

Gambling is very popular among the French. The business associated with this sphere of activity is legal but not completely. Legal includes land-based establishments, as well as online gambling in three areas:

• poker;
• betting;
• gambling.

A separate license is provided for each type, which is issued by ARJEL. It is worth noting that the company, which received the permission, has the right to work only on the territory of the country, but not outside of it. In case of rebranding or other changes, a new license will be required. It is issued directly to the platform, not to the owner, so the same entity can become the holder of several licenses.

As for slot machines, there is no permit for them, that is, there is no legal activity. Despite this, the French bypass blockages and play through the servers of other countries.

Argentina

The internal structure of the country is created in such a way that each individual region can independently pass separate laws. In this regard, different regions have their own laws regarding online gambling – 9 of the 23 provinces have already established regulators for online entertainment activities.

Since 2008, licenses are no longer issued by central government agencies, but by local authorities. According to various estimates, the payments to the budget from the activities of online casinos reach 2.4 million dollars a year. By 2020 there are 72 registered online gambling companies in Argentina.

Despite the fact that the gambling industry in the country is booming and has great prospects, the legislative industry is underdeveloped and varies greatly, depending on the province. 

Andorra

The smallest country in Europe is still in the process of improving the laws regulating the casino industry. Several types of licenses, labeled in a certain way, have been developed today. Thus, the document of class B permits opening bingo halls, and C@ and D@ – to organize online games.

In order to operate legally in the country, you must apply to the regulatory body – the Andorrà Regulatory Council of the Game. After submitting all the documents, a tender is held to determine the duration of the license. Usually, the term is five years.

Online gambling industry market in Andorra still stays in the so-called gray zone. There is a lot to work on, but the first steps have been made and promise great prospects. Focusing on tourists, the authorities pay more attention to land-based forms of entertainment. However, the availability of licenses for interactive activities helps to provide services in different directions and develop business.

Switzerland

For more than 70 years, since 1921, the country banned all forms of gambling. And only in 1993, land-based institutions were allowed, but with restrictions on the amount of bets. However, the development of technology, the emergence and popularity of the Internet did not bypass the country, so soon the government revised the legislation and lifted the restrictions on gambling.

At the same time, the regulator of gambling activity in the country SFGB has kept some specific laws, which have a negative impact on the development of the industry in Switzerland. This applies to the ban on foreign companies, and only those casinos that have a land-based counterpart can issue a license. 

In addition, the country has two monopolists for betting and lottery, namely Loterie Romande and Swisslos.

As for licenses, they are divided into offline and online format, and also differ by type of gambling. Permits are issued for 20 years with the right to renew. Only with the document, the establishment has the right to operate legally.

Tax deductions are different for land-based and online casinos. For stationary halls tax is 40% of GGR, if income does not exceed 10 million francs. At higher rates the percentage of deductions increases and can reach 80%.

For online casinos the laws are a little friendlier, the amount of payments to the budget is 20%, if the profit did not exceed 3 million francs. It is worth noting that the money received from gambling business goes to the pension fund.