Gambling in the world - history and legislation

The article of Gambling in your country highlights the state of the gambling in the world. The gambling business in the world is developing at a rapid pace. The total revenue of the casinos and the gambling in the world is more than USD 450 billion. The land-based casinos continue to bring billions of dollars in revenue. The revenues of the online casinos are growing every year – this is especially evident in the analysis of gambling in Europe. Features of European gambling business. Top list of countries to be visited by fans of casino games.

The growth of the industry is due to the fact that more and more states legalize gambling. They have introduced various legislations for the regulation of the land-based casinos and online casinos. The government sees by the experience of the neighbours that legalized the gambling could bring significant revenues to the budget.

Until 2008, the market was dominated by the gambling industry in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Now the centre is moving to the Chinese Macau. The analytics of the Company Research and Markets predict the further development of gambling in Asia. For example, now Singapore is the gambling country near China, with two gambling mega-complex is a serious rival to Las Vegas.

The state of the gambling in some countries is characterized in detail in the section gambling in your Country article.

The history of gambling

All countries of the world have their own peculiarities. The gambling industry is developing in different ways, depending on the location: in Europe, the USA or Muslim country. The article in the section of Gambling in your Country tells the history of gambling in various countries.

It is known that people played the games of chance in the third millennium BC. Then in China loved the prototypes keno and lottery, and in Egypt played excitedly a Senet – a board game with chips (see the article "Gambling business in Egypt.").

The card games

The ninth century BC was marked by the appearance of the card games in China. Baccarat appeared in Italy and France in the 13th century. The first casinos appeared in Italy – was an opened a restaurant in Venice in 1638. Then, almost immediately there was opened a casino in Baden-Baden, Germany.

The ancient form of poker existed in Persia and France in the 17th century. The flowering of the game in its current form began in 1829 when New Orleans was the first gambling capital of the USA.

Slot machines

When the first settlers mastered America, they found that the Indians play something like gambling. The British and the French brought the roulette, blackjack, and other popular games. The first slot machines appeared in the US in the 1887-1891 year. Now the slots bring up to 70% of the profits to the gambling establishments. In the relevant section of the site, you can find the useful information about playing slots for money.

Legislation of the gambling business

The article of Gambling in your Country section provides a detailed overview of the legal framework for gambling. Each country has its own characteristics. In addition, there is a different attitude to the land casinos and online casinos. The gambling in Europe, gambling in Asia, gambling in Australia has their peculiarities.

In most countries, the land-based casinos are allowed:

1. Completely resolved in 66% of countries in the world.
2. Completely banned – 22%;
3. Legal in specific areas – 8%;
4. Legal only for foreigners – 4%.

The situation with the online gambling is somewhat more complicated:

1. The online casinos are not prohibited in 40% of countries;
2. Absolutely prohibited in 19%;
3. Allowed only foreign online casino – 12%;
4. A license is required for all online casino – 14%;
5. A license is required for a local casino – 15%.

The article of the section Gambling in your Country covers in detail how are regulated (or not regulated) the land and online casinos.

For example, Georgia has one of the most graceful and transparent legal systems in the gaming industry. The US cannot boast of it, and now their acts impede the development of online gambling.

Taxation of the gambling business in the world

The section of the article Gambling in your Country talks about the taxation in different countries. Each country decides the matter in its own way. Basically, the governments prefer to impose a charge on operators and organizers of the gambling. They may charge:

• For a license;
• For game objects (tables and slot machines);
• The percentage of the organizations' revenues (VAT);
• Separate gambling tax;
• The payment to the fund for treatment against the game addiction.

Some countries, in addition to the taxes on the operators, charge a fee on winnings. For example, all the players in Macau are required to pay 40% of the winnings to the government. The foreign players in the US have to pay 30%. In France, the tax rate depends on the type of game: Poker (2%) or sports betting (7.5%).

The taxation of different countries is described in the section of the Gambling in your Country article. Here you will learn which countries prefer certain types of tax, and what are the tax revenues from gambling in the budget of the various states.

Regulators of the gambling business

The countries with the legalized gambling establish a special regulatory body. At the moment, the most influential gambling regulators are:

1. UK Gambling Commission and the Alderney Gambling Control Commission – in the United Kingdom;
2. Lotteries and Gaming Authority of Malta – Malta;
3. American Gaming Association, Nevada Gaming Control Board, and the National Indian Gaming Commission – in the United States;
4. Act Gambling and Racing Commission and New Zealand Gambling Commission – in Australia and Oceania;
5. National Gambling Board – in South Africa.

As a rule, there is the age limit for the access to the casino – 18 or 21 years old. In different countries is in different ways, somewhere the game may depend on the types of gambling.

Modern gambling business

In the article gambling in your Country, you will find a description of the state of gambling separately by country.

In 2015 and 2016 the global gambling market experienced some turmoil: in the Chinese, Macau was carried a monitoring of the VIP-players, and in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, was seen a slow decline in the profits. Nevertheless, in 2016 the market was stabilized. The total revenues of the gambling market in the world were up to USD 452 billion in 2014. The analysts predict an increase in revenues up to USD 511 billion in 2019.

The largest operators in the gaming market, according to Technavio:

• 888 Holdings – an online casino network;
• Betfair Group – bookmaker from the UK;
• Caesars Entertainment – owns 52 floating and land-based casinos in the US and abroad;
• Camelot – UK lottery company;
• INTRALOT – provider of online and interactive content for casinos and bookmakers;
• Las Vegas Sands – American developer of gambling and entertainment complexes;
• MGM Resorts – American company, also engaged in large gaming complexes;
• SJM Holdings – engaged in casino in Macau;
• William Hill – Online bookmaker based in Gibraltar.

Gambling in Europe

The gambling in Europe continues to develop successfully. In 2015, the land-based casino's revenues were up to EUR 77.7 billion, and the revenue of the online casinos were EUR 16.5 billion. The most popular sector in the European online industry – is a sports betting, which occupies 37% of the market.

The most gambling countries in Europe:

1. Ireland – the expenditure per adult inhabitant per year is USD 588;
2. Finland – USD 553;
3. Italy – USD 517;
4. Norway – USD 448;
5. Greece – USD 420;
6. Spain – the expenditure per adult inhabitant per year is USD 418.

The lottery and bingo – are the games permitted in Europe, even in the countries where the gambling is prohibited. For example, in the Netherlands, the monopoly Holland Casino, owned by the state is engaged in gambling. The largest revenues in the budget come from the monopoly of the National Lottery – EUR 347, 7 million a year.

Gambling in the UK

In 2016 in the United Kingdom were:

1. 8709 points bookmakers;
2. 167839 slot machines;
3. 575 sites for bingo;
4. 148 casino.

The most popular gambling in the UK – it is online (33%), the national lottery (25%) the betting (24%). The total revenue from the gambling in the UK from April 2015 to March 2016 was EUR 16.4 Bln.

Gambling in Spain

Spain is considered one of the most gambling nations. The country has more than 40 casinos. The online gambling for 2015 showed an increase of 26%:

• The sports betting brings most of all income – EUR 179 million;
• followed by the online casino – EUR 67,5 m;
• Poker – EUR 59,8 m;
• Bingo – EUR 7,8 Million. 

Gambling in Asia

The gambling in Asia in 2008 seized the primacy from the United States. Asia keeps more than 30% of the gambling market. Already in 2011, four of the five largest gambling corporations were Asian: Genting Singapore, Sands China, Wynn Macau, and SJM Holdings.

For a long time in the Asian regions were allowed only to bets on horse races and lotteries. In 2002 began the flourishing of Macau. In 2012, only in a month the Macau industry received USD 3, 5 billion.

Currently, there are several gambling countries in Asia, which represent a multi-billion dollar market:

1. Macao;
2. Singapore;
3. Philippines;
4. Indian Goa;
5. Laos;
6. Cambodia.

The horseracing – is one of the permitted games around the world. Even the most stringent Muslim Asian countries allow their residents to watch the horse racing and bet on them, even though it is called differently. For example, in Iran, there are "predictions" on sports or horse racing. As long as the "predictions" are conducted by approved channels, it is considered legal.

Pachinko in Japan – is a form of slot machines. Technically, they are illegal, because the gambling is forbidden in Japan. But pachinko is recognized as a form of entertainment, and they can be played using tokens. These tokens can be exchanged for prizes or money.

Gambling in Australia

The gambling in Australia brings to the government budget about USD 3.6 billion annually. Australians – are one of the most gambling nations in the world. The state governments are carefully controlled the game play. Australia has 22 land-based casinos and the online casinos rapidly developing.

The largest revenue – are from pokies, and slot machines. In the New South Wales the number of the slot machines is only surpassed by the state of Nevada USA. The Australian state contains more than 95,800 slot machines.

Gambling business in USA

The gambling in the United States is allowed, but only in the Indian reservations and floating establishments. In 2015 the US players spent USD 38.5 billion in the commercial casino. In total 1623 casino operate. The total income of all gambling in the United States was up to USD 71.1 billion. In the market of the country, new modern trends in gambling are successfully developed: Daily Fantasy Sport, bitcoin gambling.

Online gambling business

The online gambling is also growing rapidly. The projected revenues in 2020 will reach USD 53 billion according to the research of the experts H2 Gambling Capital.

The section of the article Gambling in your Country are shown the statistics for different countries. You can read how the things are with the online gambling business, what are the prospects of development of the industry.

Trends in the development of the industry

The online casinos appeared in 1994. The first live casino was opened in 2003 on the Playtech platform. Now this is a multi-billion dollar industry with a variety of institutions and manufacturers.

Along with the development of the mobile technology, the mobile gaming industry began flourished. Appear new forms of gambling: the social casino, Daily Fantasy Sport, bitcoin gambling. The future of the gambling may be tightly linked to the development of virtual reality.