Online Gambling Country Restrictions
Gibraltar and Malta are two European countries which called “tax paradise” for online gambling games as there are no limits for its development. Malta was the first country that regulated the law of online gambling. Nowadays the popular online casinos, poker rooms, and betting offices use the licenses of this country.
- Casinos: 184 Curacao is one of the oldest, yet still one of the least understood of the world's online gambling jurisdictions. The Curacao Gambling Control Board administers land-based gambling in the country and answers directly to the Minister of Justice.
- When you are looking for an online casino to play in, there are many factors that could prevent you from playing there. One of these factors include the country in which you are playing from. This could mean that you are simply not allowed to sign up, because your country is restricted from playing at that casino.
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Over 60 countries around the world license online casinos, the US is the worst country for gamblers, and 56 percent of the world’s population faces some form of online gambling ban, but ordinary players are not penalised in most cases. These are the main findings of a research project into online gambling access, by affiliate KeyToCasino.
Looking at sources in 46 languages from 225 countries, KeyToCasino researched online and land-based casino access and then gave each country a Gambling Availability Score. A key part of this score was the policy of online casinos. For example, 14 percent of casinos restrict access to players even though they live in countries where there are no online gambling restrictions.
The scores were out of 1,000 with 500 points based on online casino accessibility. For the remaining 500 points, casino laws, penalties, access and financial blocks were taken into consideration. The United States got the worst Gambling Availability Score with 311 points followed by Iran with 407 points and France with 412 points. In the United States, where online gambling is banned on a federal level, gamblers cannot access 72 percent of the world’s online casinos. Other countries’ scores and ranks are available here.
Fifty-six percent of the world’s population face some form of online casino ban. In 39 countries online casinos are banned completely, and in 32 countries, local operators are banned, but foreign online casinos operate. A further 61 countries allow casinos to operate under licence. Half of these countries only have the ability to enforce the licence on local casino operators though. The remaining 93 countries of the world do not explicitly ban online casinos or license them.
The researchers also looked at land-based casinos, discovering that 57 countries restrict them, while 168 countries let their citizens play in land-based casinos, although some only allow casinos in certain parts of the country. This means only 47 percent of the world’s population can access land-based casinos.
Further, the researchers looked at the countries’ online gambling laws in relation to the land-based casino laws. They found that in 27 countries out of 168 where land-based casinos are allowed, online casinos are banned. The remaining countries regulate online casinos, or have no formal ban. Most of the 57 countries that ban land-based casinos also ban online casinos, but 13 have no such ban in place.
The study also found that 25 countries criminally penalise ordinary online gamblers, while 15 countries impose an administrative penalty. Nothing happens to players in the remaining 92 countries that ban or restrict online gambling. However, 36 countries get internet service providers to block access to casinos, and 18 countries block their financial transactions.
The complete research report with more statistics and gambling legislation oddities is available here.
Many of the countries that ban online gambling use websites and casinos in the use of their IP addresses to keep out their people to avoid playing their gambling activities.
Those countries which already limit the content their citizens can access significantly, including Iran and Turkey, have more sophisticated systems in place to prevent access to online gambling.
In those countries that have completely forbidden online gambling, people who are caught, or trying to play can face significant penalties, including possibly years in jail.
Using a VPN online gambling
Whether you live in a country where online gambling is illegal or fly to a country, VPN is the only safe way to access an online casino that’s blocked in your country.
Most gambling websites check the IP address for incoming traffic in accordance with international law and deny entry from servers in countries where online gambling is prohibited.
You can route your internet connection with the VPN service through a server in your home country or a country with more permissive play rules, such as the United Kingdom or the United States.
You can then avoid restrictions when gambling onlinewithout being blocked due to your location.
VPNs have the advantage of concealing your actual location and of decoding your internet connection, which makes tracking or surveillance of your activities very difficult.
Which is the best VPN service for online gambling?
There are several factors you must take into account when choosing a VPN service to overcome the geographical restrictions on online gambling.
Privacy is important, so it is vital to select a VPN service that you are confident your data can be properly encrypted.
A VPN service providing a wide range of servers across different countries is also important, since it offers you a number of options to choose the country in which you want to appear.
These are the VPN services we suggest with these factors in mind, if you want to avoid restrictions when playing online.
More and more people are trying to overcome geographical restrictions to enjoy their hobby as online games increase in popularity.
Online Gambling Country Restrictions 2019
Through signing up for a right VPN provider, travelers need not give up their hobby during their travel and website content is accessible to those living in countries that ban online gambling.
Online Gambling Country Restrictions 2020
The advantages of using a VPN do not stop accessing online gambling websites. Users enjoy the increased privacy, cybercrime protection, and access to other geographically restricted content, including streaming services and sporting events.