Efficient and effective gaming laws are critical in helping a jurisdiction attract and operate a gaming industry.
Gaming legislation varies from one country to another – and sometimes, as is the case with the United States, from one state to the next. The variance is also in how a jurisdiction manages to adapt laws to current and future industry needs.
In Europe, for instance, Germany’s new gaming legislation, which will come into effect on July 1, 2021, will make online poker and online casino games legal. However, significant restrictions will be in place – for instance, for sports betting, bettors will only be able to wager on the final result or the next scorer. As for online slot games, these will be subject to a limit of €1 per spin, and offered separately to table games.
In Spain, the Spanish Gambling Act of 2011 harmonises the regulation of online betting in the country – but empowers autonomous communities to determine most regulations and policies within their regions. For online gambling, the Act requires licensed operators to conduct their business through a .es domain and redirect all connections to their other domains made from locations in Spain or using Spanish user accounts.
What about the UK?
The primary legislation that regulates land-based and online gambling in the UK is the Gambling Act of 2005, which sets out three objectives: preventing gambling from being a source of crime or disorder, associated with crime or disorder, or used to support crime; ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way; and protecting children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling. The responsible authority is the Gambling Commission, which regulates gambling and the National Lottery.
Under this legislation, various forms of gambling are offered – including casino games, sports betting, bingo and gaming machines, either on the high street or online, and played with cash, tokens, no deposit bonuses or other forms such as Paypal casinos.
The minimum legal age for gambling in the UK is 18 years old – which also applies to online gambling such as casino games with free spins. The only exception to this legal age is the National Lottery, lotteries and football pools, where the minimum legal age is 16.
Some amendments to the 2005 Act were proposed in 2011, mainly to the provision which allowed offshore remote gambling operators to have an advantage over those based and licensed in the UK. This advantage was that operators based in the European Economic Area, Gibraltar and certain white-listed jurisdictions could advertise their services in the UK, without holding a UK operator licence. Following a consultation period, the Gambling (Advertising and Licensing) Bill was issued on December 3, 2012 – and implemented on October 1, 2014 – with fundamental changes to how remote gambling was regulated.
The main changes included that all operators advertising gambling services in the UK, or transacting with customers, must hold a UK licence. Moreover, it became a licence condition that all gambling software used by a UK licensee must be manufactured, supplied, installed and adapted by the holder of a gambling software operating licence.
The UK gambling legislation has enabled the UK industry to grow. In fact, the gross gambling yield in the UK increased from £8.4bn in 2011 to approximately £14.4 from October 2018 to September 2019.
Disclaimer: Play responsibly. Players must be over 18. For help visit https://www.gamcare.org.uk/