Worldwide Gambling Legislation

iGaming regulations and restrictions around the world

33 none
18 little/none
18 light
33 moderate
17 heavy
14 banned
65 undefined

Worldwide gambling markets are governed on the level of sovereign states through legislation enacted by the national legislature. The national regulations scope and reach vary from country to country. They can stipulate either ban, or they regulate gambling heavily, moderately, lightly, and in some instances, not at all.

The legislation generally focuses on all forms of gambling available in the country — lotteries, bingo, sports betting, and casino games — and define taxation while they also take the market development and preferences into consideration.

Regulations can focus simultaneously on land-based and online casinos, or they can regulate these two entities separately. Considering their distinctions and prerequisites of iGaming, principles can differ depending on a number of aspects.

As with any system of rules, active gambling legislation evolves in line with society needs, community progress, and technological advancements.

The legislation also institutes and empowers the regulatory bodies (or national gambling authorities) to enforce the complete legislative package and to further develop and sustain the legal framework. The regulatory bodies shape gambling policies that refer both to the operators and players.

Therefore…

…national gambling authorities define:

  • Industry standards and norms for all casino and lottery/bingo operations;
  • Licensing criteria and process;
  • Overall business practices;
  • Rules of the games;
  • Marketing and promotional messaging guidelines;
  • Financial protocols;
  • Accompanying service activities.

In cases of proper regulation of iGaming market, the regulatory bodies govern technology-related compliance such as:

  • Quality of software code;
  • RNG and RTP algorithms (calculations, deviations, and probability distributions);
  • Servers’ architecture;
  • Inspection, testing and certification of complete IT infrastructure.

National gambling authorities also outline all provisions related to players like:

  • The age limits;
  • Gambling protection and security;
  • Fairness;
  • Overall accessibility to gambling offered by both domestic and/or foreign operators.

Gambling regulations and restrictions should not be confused with gambling jurisdictions.

The regulations define the body of laws that govern gambling in a sovereign state — what operators and players can or cannot do. On the other hand, the jurisdictions exclusively regulate the operators’ business end within the country that issues licenses for worldwide iGaming operations — how online gambling business is to be established, organized, and run.

Some states have both regulations and jurisdictions, while others have only the former.

Below is the list of gambling regulations and restrictions in all world countries where you can find more about the current state of their national legal framework.

All restrictions levels (countries: 198)

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