The Wizard Explains Gambling Jurisdictions Online and Land
Introduction
Even though people from all walks of life enjoy gambling, the gambling world behind the scenes is almost like a world unto itself with parts and pieces that not only keep the entire industry functioning but also protect game integrity, players, and everyone involved. The regulations behind those and other things not only create but maintain a fair, transparent, and secure environment for everyone involved.
Almost every country with legalized gambling has some sort of regulatory oversight in place even if it’s just the laws of the land with potential criminal penalties enforced through police actions or a regulatory system that provides oversight. Details are different in most regions but they all have at least a few things in common.
You are welcome to explore any given jurisdiction below to find specific information. We’ll also give you an overview of the typical structures behind regulation and how the gambling control boards generally function in this overview of the world’s gambling jurisdictions. We’ll use a broad brush to bring distinction to major areas like licensing, compliance, and enforcement and then paint in some finer details to help bring the whole picture into focus. This approach should help you understand the differences in some jurisdictions in how they regulate land-based and online casinos.
Each individual jurisdiction page will focus on the approach of that authority and what that difference means to you on the ground whether you are standing at a baccarat table in Macau, spinning the slots in Las Vegas, or sitting in your living room playing at an online casino or sportsbook. Your awareness of the regulatory regime you are playing under, especially online, can inform your decision when you consider a gambling site’s legitimacy. Simply recommending, providing neutral information, or blacklisting every site in the world is no longer possible, so the best we can do is to inform you, the player while we stay vigilant ourselves.
Let’s start at the beginning…
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What Are Gambling Regulators?
Gambling regulators are the government bodies that are responsible for enforcing betting and gaming laws. The agencies can oversee either land-based or online operators or both to make sure they follow the laws of the jurisdiction they are operating in. The main goal of any regulator is to make sure that players are protected, fair play is maintained, and criminal activities like money laundering and fraud don’t happen.
The regulatory framework (operating instructions for the authority) will vary from place to place but most overseers have a few things in common. Vetting applicants and issuing licenses; (sometimes with applicant-specific provisions), enforcing or directing enforcement for compliance with regulations; conducting audits; investigating complaints, and imposing penalties for non-compliance are among the core responsibilities of nearly all regulators.
Licensing
One of the most important things gambling regulators do is grant licenses to operators. In most jurisdictions, an applicant has to meet the prescribed standards to gain a license. Some are offered in public tenders while others can simply be applied for by any qualified entity. Some markets have a set number of “first come, first served” licenses along with the balance being released at intervals. Regardless, the applicant and all related entities (human or corporate) have to undergo some kind of background check. Regulators will look at business history and finances as well as any past criminal activity and in some places, any associations with bad actors in the past.
There is more than one type of license depending on the jurisdiction. The Curaçao Gaming Control Board and other bodies can award licenses for any sort of betting or wagering activity. A single licence from Curacao grants the operator the ability to offer sportsbetting, parimutuel wagering, casino games, poker, or almost anything else. On the other hand, Spain issues licenses for each type of gambling so a hybrid operator offering casino games, sportsbetting, and bingo would need three separate licenses. The licenses need to be renewed every few years, depending on the jurisdiction.
Using the License
The regulator’s job doesn’t end with vetting, approving, and issuing licenses. Most of them also monitor the operator’s activities to ensure they comply with the rules. They can monitor operations in real-time if regulations require it. This can be done by sharing server data for an online operation and in the same way for server-based electronic games like slots in even the most luxurious Las Vegas casinos.
Real-time monitoring is not widespread among well-seasoned markets and usually comes into play when a government wants to track every penny for tax accounting purposes but it can also be applied in jurisdictions where overseers may lack trust in their licensees or even their own auditors. Regular audits of an operator’s internal controls and checking financial records are also part of the monitoring process. Game fairness and how player funds are handled are also crucial compliance issues.
Independent testing labs like GLI, bmi, and eCONGRA work with regulators to ensure fair games by testing games and issuing certificates. These labs are mostly used by online casinos but some are so far-reaching and well-respected that they can be entrusted with election statistics and other matters of fairness. The labs test the Random Number Generators (RNGs) that create game outcomes. Some of the most reputable labs, like eCOGRA and iTech Labs, provide certification to casinos that pass their rigorous testing procedures. Other testing certificates are not so easy for players to find online.
Regulators can jerk a license in a heartbeat in some instances or through a long drawn-out process in others. License revocation is a last-ditch effort in most cases and is usually the result of a stark criminal action or an operator simply refusing to comply with the given standards.
Rogue operators that manipulate games, lie to or otherwise mislead players, or fail to maintain proper records can face a variety of heavy or even crippling penalties. In Spain, unlicensed casinos can be hit with fines of up to 50 million Euros. Player advocate sites like The Wizard of Odds, LCB.org, and others can also blacklist bad online operators long before the specific regulator drops the hammer.
AML - KYC - Document Verification
Another thing gambling control boards do is to enforce anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) policies. These requirements are designed to prevent criminal activity like terrorism financing or simply washing dirty money to get criminal proceeds into the economy. Most jurisdictions follow international standards set by organizations like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and they require operators to identify and verify customers. For the online player that ultimately means document verification - in land-based compliance, it can be hand pays after a big slot win, filling out various forms, and other things going on behind the scenes in the realm of casino surveillance.
Online operators are required to demand personal information from players before the money can flow downhill as a withdrawal. Proof of identity and address, ownership of financial instruments like debit cards or credit accounts, and other verification must be performed to make sure the player being paid is not taking part in illegal activities. Larger transactions, and especially those over $10,000 in the US are monitored closely. International standards require suspicious activities to be reported. Operators who are too relaxed in their standards can pay heavy fines or even lose their licenses. Some jurisdictions like the UK also go a step further and may ask for source of wealth information (SoW) or complete personal banking histories if they suspect a player might have a gambling problem.
Dispute Resolution
While you won’t be able to go directly to the license issuer in most cases, all regulators are ultimately responsible for making sure the basic gambling contract is honored, If a player believes they’ve been cheated or that the operator has not met their side of the bargain, they can file a complaint. Depending on the circumstances and jurisdiction the regulator will get involved and ensure compliance. They might investigate the matter, provide mediation, impose penalties against the operator who was in the wrong, or ban the player if the player has cheated.
It’s rarely that direct of a line between players and regulators but all jurisdictions should have a process in place the customer can rely on to have a dispute resolved. In the case of the UK Gambling Commission, an alternate dispute resolution service is provided. In countries like Spain and Italy, there is also a formal procedure to mediate these disagreements.
The Regulatory Framework
Although the details can vary widely between jurisdictions and even online or offline in the same country, the following elements usually appear in nearly all frameworks - Licensing and Permits; Player Protection; Game Fairness; AML/KYC Requirements; Responsible Gambling; Dispute Resolution, and Compliance. Some of the elements overlap but can all be seen in the following list:
- Licensing and Permits: All legitimate gambling operators will have a valid license. Some licenses are easier to come by than others. Public tenders can involve huge sums of money simply to apply or to be held in bond, but all licensed operators have to go through a process to ensure business liquidity, lack of criminality, and AML/KYC at a minimum.
- Player Protection: The games must be fair, player funds secure, and gambling harm must be reduced in most jurisdictions even if the only regulatory requirement is to honor a self-exclusion request.
- Responsible Gambling Measures: Depending on how robust the regulatory framework is, operators have to provide resources and tools to help prevent problem gambling.
- Penalties for Non-Compliance: Operators who break the rules can be hit with big fines, license suspension, or even criminal charges in some regions.
Not All Jurisdictions are the Same
We’ve covered some of the commonalities of gambling regulators around the world, online and off, but there is as much variety in these laws and governing bodies as there is in slot machines on a gambling floor. They all do about the same thing but the difference from game to game can be huge. Looking at Europe we see the UK and Spain with comprehensive systems in place to regulate all forms of gambling. Entire bureaucracies are built around these bodies and they do their jobs well as defined.
On the other hand, there are smaller regulators like those found in Curacao or even Anjouan that only take care of the barest minimums of AML and consumer protections. There are plenty of good operators licensed in places like that and others in between like Malta or the Kahnawake Gaming Commission in Canada. Some regulators are more lenient and in those cases, the player has more of a personal responsibility to choose a good online operator.
Click on the country, state, province, territory, or city you want to know more about below on the map or in the list to learn more about each gambling jurisdiction.