Online gambling

[civiveg]

Online gambling (or Internet gambling) is any kind of gambling conducted on the internet. This includes virtual poker, casinos and sports betting. The first online gambling venue opened to the general public, was ticketing for the Liechtenstein International Lottery in October 1994.[1] Today the market is worth around $40 billion globally each year, according to various estimates.[2][3]

Many countries restrict or ban online gambling. However it is legal in some states of the United States, some provinces in Canada, most countries of the European Union and several nations in the Caribbean.

In many legal markets, online gambling service providers are required by law to have some form of licence if they wish to provide services or advertise to residents there. For example, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission[4] or the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in the United States.

Many online casinos and gambling companies around the world choose to base themselves in tax havens near to their main markets. These destinations include Gibraltar, Malta and Alderney in Europe,[5] and in Asia, the Special Administrative Region of Macau was long considered a tax haven and known base for gambling operators in the region.[6] However, in 2018 the EU removed Macau from their list of black-listed tax havens