Youngsters
particularly need to be protected from gambling and other vices like drugs and
alcohol that may taint their existence. Gambling Laws differ across countries and even
within states. An 18 year old in New Jersey USA cannot enter a casino but can
bet on horse racing and buy lottery tickets! USA believed that online internet
gambling is illegal too with offshore betting sites like in the Bahamas setting
up shop in the mid 1990s. Yet American licensed internet gambling sites do
exist after laws were modified.
What online gaming laws exist
around the world?
Macau, the gambling capital, legalized gaming since the 1850s. Revenues
from gambling tourism make up 50% of their income. Greater than Las Vegas,
Macau started with Chinese games before casinos were introduced from Australia
and America.
The Gambling Act 2005 in UK wishes to prevent gambling from
escalating into crime and disorder. Gambling is not prohibited in Mexico but works
under the authority of the central government.
Internet
Gambling has been allowed since 1994 by Caribbean Antigua and Barbuda. Canadian law does not prohibit internet
gaming but the business should be owned or licensed by the provincial
government.
The Russian law completely prohibits gambling
online. France has legalized online gaming since 2009. Maharashtra
state in India bans online gambling and such activities could be blocked by
internet exchange providers within India. Germany in 2008 banned all online
gambling except betting on horse racing.
Could we not have uniform laws across the world that would have
made everything so much easier? Yet that is a dream not to be.
