Given the current state of the economy, many people are looking for different ways to earn extra money. With the rise in popularity of online gambling, it’s no surprise that many people have decided to take a shot at it in hopes of earning money. The reality though is that like everything else that sees a massive rise in popularity, the government has also taken an interest in the growing industry of online gambling. We are seeing more and more legislation being implemented surrounding online gambling. The question that is on everyone’s mind is how these laws will affect the industry and access to online gambling. So, let’s look at the state of gambling and the possible changes coming with these laws.
European Legislation
When we talk about gambling especially online, Europe is known for having stricter legislation than many other places in the West. It is important to understand that while the European Union generally has many laws covering the entirety of its territories, there are currently no EU-wide gambling laws. What happened over the past few years is that many countries within the EU changed their legislation surrounding online gambling. While France is working to legalize online casinos in 2025, as of 2024 it is still one of the three European Union countries where online gambling is fully illegal along with Cyprus and Luxembourg. Exceptions are made for certain poker tables and sports betting. Many other countries have highly legislated casinos which are generally owned by the state like Poland, Hungary, Finland, and Austria. As you can see there are many ways to access online gambling in Europe depending on where you are.
Types of Games
Generally speaking, gambling online is mostly regulated because of the gamification of gambling and its potential popularity with younger people. There is a very real phenomenon where many people creating content online have been financed by online casinos. A lot of these content creators often count young people in their audiences so many governments have been implementing legislation to potentially limit access to these gambling websites. Generally speaking, these websites require age verification whether it is to do sports betting or play poker. The reality is that if you go online to gamble you will see that access to poker games is pretty cheap to buy and the mahjong game is free to play on many websites. So, if you are above board when it comes to age and access legislation surrounding those games shouldn’t be affected by the new legislation put in place by many countries.
The shift towards the US
Over the past few years, we’ve seen many gambling companies turn their attention away from Europe after falling under the hammer of many regulators. One such example saw the British government sanctioning a gambling giant for failing to protect their customers from getting addicted to their product. These regulators held the company liable for the damage caused by their product. Eventually, this company was forced to pay almost 3 million dollars in damages. This is why many gambling companies turned to the US where such government watchdogs do not currently exist. While this means that online gambling is that much more available in the US it also means that there are much fewer regulations and safety nets for those who could potentially fall into addiction. Hence why it is important to gamble wisely and in moderation. The US is a hotbed for gambling opportunities especially when you look at events like the past election where plenty of people partook in crypto gambling on the result of it.
What the future holds
The reality is that while many countries have yet to introduce legislation surrounding online gambling or the use of cryptocurrencies in online gambling, there has been a lot of rumbling surrounding both those things. The reality is that cryptocurrencies are a headache for many law enforcement bodies and many people wonder if stricter regulations surrounding the use of cryptocurrencies wouldn’t simplify the work of these law enforcement agencies. In the same vein, many countries worried about the popularity of online gambling have started to make sure that it is properly regulated by their governmental gambling agencies. Chances are we will see countries where legislation exists potentially strengthen these legislations over the next few years.
As you can see there is a bit of a tug of war, push and pull going on when it comes to the implementation of legislation surrounding both cryptocurrency and online gambling the reality is that for those who currently have access to it a lot of these laws won’t change anything. If anything, countries like France are looking to make it more accessible as it is currently illegal in its entirety aside from poker and sports gambling. With its rise in popularity both amongst gamblers and social media users the reality is that online gambling is there to stay so it’s no wonder that many people are looking to at least regulate it.
