When online became so popular a couple of years ago, we can see that there were are a lot of different movements in the global market. That market is divided into a couple of regional markets, which are again divided into countries. Every county has its own set of regulations regarding this field. The situation is the same even in Europe.
Why this could be strange for many gamblers is that the EU is a federation, whose members are connected through economy and market. However, this is not the case in a wide array of different fields. One of these is certainly gambling, both online and land-based. While this can be strange for many gamblers, it is what it is.
Therefore, you will need to pay attention to the regulation depending on the country you are playing at. Since it is less likely that you will visit all of them and play at their brick-and-mortar casinos, we will focus on online casinos. If you would like to take a look at one of the finest examples of a gambling site in Europe, be sure to check out starwarscasinos.com.
Now, we would like to provide you with a couple of European gambling laws you need to be aware of before you play. Of course, we will categorize them on their country of origin. Without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the most important ones.
1. Poland
Probably the most interesting case in the whole of Europe is Poland. The government has banned all forms of gambling, except sports betting. In the last decade, it was made possible for a lot of companies to apply for the license issued by the government. However, only a couple of companies got it to this day. When it comes to illegal gambling, penalties are pretty high. Even a prison sentence is possible.
As you can see, the law is pretty inflexible when it comes to this way of gambling. Despite all the laws, we can see that many players in this country are playing on foreign sites. Even though this represents a high loss of money, there are no signs that this stance will be changed soon. Until then, players will need to visit foreign sites.
2. Italy
Now, we would like to talk about probably the most progressive nations in the EU when it comes to gaming, Italy. In the middle 2000s, Italy’s lawmakers have decided to conduct a thorough change of the law to make it progressive. However, this was only the first chapter towards becoming what it is today. The second chapter happened a decade ago when all the current regulation was passed.
As is the case in a wide array of countries all over the world, all casinos in Italy are subject to local regulation. What does this mean? Well, every gambling site needs to apply for a license. However, we can see that obtaining these licenses is quite hefty. The price can go as far as up to 2.5 million euros. Plus, the license lasts the next nine years and cannot be renewed. The subjects need to ask for a new one.
3. Switzerland
Different from the regulation we’ve mentioned before, we can see that Switzerland has a much more rigid relationship to this field. Naturally, this kind of regulation applies only to the operators. Despite all the rigid regulations, we can see that players still have a plethora of options if they are interested in online gambling in this country.
The story starts just four years ago, in 2018. Before that year, there were no local online casinos. Since their players gambled their money on sites in other countries, the government decided to allow these gambling sites. At the same time, the tax revenue for this field has become quite high. The reason is quite simple, the money Switzerland loses only through this channel is 500,000 francs every year.
4. Spain
While Spain was a relatively open country when it comes to gambling, we can see that their progress was pretty slow when it comes to legalizing online casinos. The final step towards what we have now was made in 2012. Once again, anyone interested in having its online casinos needed to apply for a license issued by the state regulatory institutions. If a site doesn’t have a license, it cannot operate.
Pretty much all of the big players in this industry have managed to obtain the state license and they are operating freely. What is different from some countries on the old continent is that the companies who obtain a license are not required to ask for a new one every couple of years. Instead, they can just renew the existing one. Also, the required age to play on these sites is 18.
5. Germany
Last but not least, Germany is a country with an interesting history of gambling regulation. Therefore, these laws are much more complex than in some other countries. One of the surprising moves was made in the late 2000s when all online gambling was prohibited, except horse racing betting. However, this regulation didn’t last for long. Just two years later the Union has ruled this regulation as unlawful.
Since then, there were a couple of different regulations that the government compiled. However, we can see that the final step will be made on the first of July 2024. That law will serve as an umbrella for all previous ones. What’s interesting to know is that pretty much every region in Germany has its own rules when it comes to this field. That’s why the government has decided to create an umbrella law.
The Bottom Line
In case you didn’t know, there are 44 countries on the old continent. Despite the fact that 26 of them are in the EU, all of them have different gambling regulations. So, when choosing an online casino to play at, be sure to check its country of origin and what are the regulations in it when it comes to this field.
