The Importance of Online Casino Regulation
The number of online casino players keeps rising by the thousands with each passing day. People from all around the world are more than willing to explore this concept of gaming to find out how entertaining it really is.
However, a large number of countries do not have specific regulations concerning this gaming concept and online casinos are classified as a grey market. The importance of online casino regulation now is greater than ever before because experts are confident that the sector will continue to rise in the next couple of years and boom in 2025. This is when the annual revenue of these platforms is likely to top $100 billion and that will make them the highest profit-makers in the gambling industry.
With that being said, we are going to reflect on the importance of online casino regulation and how it benefits both players and authorities. But first, let's shed light on a country where online gambling is regulated quite effectively.
Where is Online Gambling Regulated?
The first thing that pops up in the mind of many experts in the iGaming industry when the regulated online gambling market is mentioned is the UK. There's no denying the fact that this country is a prime example of what a regulated market should look like.
UK’s online gambling regulation is included in the Gambling Act of 2005 and according to this law, all forms of online gambling are considered legal in the country. People that are over 18 can register and play at licensed online casinos.
Casino sites in this country are licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, which is viewed by many as the most respected and most effective regulator. Only casino sites licensed by the UKGC are free to offer their services to the players.
Several responsible gambling organizations are operating in the country and they are in charge of making sure that players do not develop problem gambling behaviour. In 2020, the UKGC determined that credit cards often lead to players losing more money than they originally intend at online casinos and hence, as a way to protect them, it decided to ban credit cards from being used as a payment method.
UK’s Gambling Act has 6 forms of gambling, each of which comes with its own set of rules:
· Betting
· Bingo
· Casino
· Lotteries
· Arcades
· Gaming Machines
Benefits of Online Casino Regulation
Below we will take a look at the benefits that come with having a regulated online casino industry.
Reduced Crime
First of all, online casinos that operate on the black market are often tied to fraud and money laundering. If an operator is left unregulated, it has the chance of diving into criminal activities. Take Crown and The Star in Australia as examples. These two operators were under scrutiny in 2022 as they were found guilty of breaching AML policies.
A regulated online casino industry will force players (in a positive way) to only play at licensed and regulated casino sites and in doing so, crime will be reduced. After all, licensed casino sites are overseen by respective authorities which make sure that the highest standards in the industry are respected.
Tax Revenue
One of the biggest benefits that come from having a regulated online casino industry is tax revenue. Online casino revenue is subject to tax and the money is surprisingly high. Take the state of New Jersey, USA, as an example.
In November 2021, New Jersey recorded $1.3 billion in revenue from sports betting only. The revenue generated $45.8 million in taxes for that month only. Now imagine the amount of money that a regulated industry would bring in each year.
It exceeds hundreds of millions of dollars and countries that regulate online gambling and collect tax money often direct the money towards education, healthcare, problem gambling organizations and infrastructure. Thanks to that fact, the community is able to progress and develop at a much faster rate.
Higher Employment Rates
Countries that regulate online gambling experience the benefit of having a higher employment rate and here’s why. In order to regulate the industry better, you need authorities that will regulate the industry. These authorities need to employ competent people that will do their job properly.
Additionally, if online gambling is legalized and regulated, operators will be able to be based in the country and will have the chance to employ the locals. Thanks to that fact, the online gambling industry as a whole will be able to employ thousands of people and be beneficial to the economy.
Higher employment also means more tax money from the paychecks, which is extra revenue for the government.
Player Security
Finally, we have player security. In countries where online gambling is in the grey market, unlicensed operators, which are often scam sites, can operate and lure players to their platform. The more unlicensed casino sites operate in a certain country, the higher the chances of online scams are.
Countries where online gambling is regulated, the UK included, have developed special systems that are able to block unlicensed casino sites and hence, these platforms are unable to scam players. Player security is a top priority and that is exactly what a regulated online casino industry can bring.
Improved Gaming Experience
Moving on, if the casino industry is regulated, then it will have better chances of evolving and becoming more user-friendly. New concepts of gaming will be researched and providers and operators will make sure that they lift the standards of a quality gaming experience.
The more the industry evolves, the more secure the players will be and the better the accessibility will be. In the meantime, the industry will cooperate with authorities to make sure that players limit their time and budget or in other words, play casino games responsibly.
After all, the goal at these sites is to have fun, not to take any unnecessary risks.
India – A Market That Shows the Importance of Regulation
India is one of the countries where even though online gambling is formally labelled as illegal, the government lacks the tools to regulate the industry. That is the reason why Indian players are free to access and register at offshore casino sites to play their featured games.
In fact, online gambling in India is so popular that this country is the second most popular market for the industry, trailing only behind the UK. Recent statistics even show that around 40% of the population in the country has gambled on online platforms at least once.
Experts even believe that due to the volume, India is likely to surpass the UK. The big problem here is that the government does not receive any money from its people gambling at casino sites. Moreover, numerous Indians are scammed by unlicensed sites and authorities cannot do anything about it.
The attacks come from offshore regions where India has no authority. All of this comes as a result of online casinos being unregulated.
Research shows that India can collect millions of dollars in taxes if the industry becomes regulated. The money can be used to uplift the community and bring a lot of operators to its soil. These factors will be beneficial for the people and the government as employment will start rising and players will finally be able to access and play at secure sites. However, a string of difficulties make this road hard and only time will tell whether India will manage to regulate the industry or not.