Online Gambling Legislation

As the online gambling software industry is booming, a vague question is still actual: is online gambling legal? Despite known insufficiencies in national legislations as far online gambling law is concerned, Internet gaming continues to be among the hottest, most profitable businesses because it combines the explosive growth of the Internet with human natural interest in gambling.

Legal internet gambling is concentrated in a few online gambling capitals of the world: the Caribbean (Antigua and Barbuda, Costa Rica, etc.), Australia, the UK, South Africa, Argentina, Israel, Gibraltar...

If legal online gambling is approved in most Western European nations and - let's imagine - the Unites States which still seem to be reluctant to remove old barriers of moralistic stance towards legal online gambling, the whole gambling industry is likely to skyrocket, as the sector will seÑf significant positive impact from the new sources of revenue.

Already there are up to 2,000 web sites for online gaming, most of them offshore and some illegal, which generate at least US$5.5 billion in revenue annually. With billions of gambling dollars being generated on these sites, US states like Nevada are putting systems in place for when, and if, online gambling becomes a legal, onshore reality.

There has always been the threat of prohibition of Internet gambling, but in recent years advocates of a ban have discovered an enforcement mechanism that has proven to be quite successful. That is, policymakers, namely those in the United States, are looking to block interactive gambling by doing after the lifeblood of the industry: the transfer of funds.

Despite all restrictions, industry experts project the population of online bettors will grow at a high rate and they estimate internet gambling revenues will reach US$20 in a few years.