Sports Gambling Laws Around the World
Online sports betting has always been trailing behind traditional betting on sports as far as the written law is concerned. It’s pretty clear how this came to be. Traditional gambling antedates the emergence of online sportsbooks, and so, it’s normal for it to have received its legal definition and norms much earlier. We’ll make sure to draw a parallel between the two. Join us as we take a closer look at the sports gambling laws of the countries with the most well-developed gaming industries around the globe.
Sports Betting Laws in the US
Sports betting is lagging behind thanks to a piece of legislation under the name ‘Professional and Sports Protection Act of 1992’ (PASPA), which was in effect until recent years. The act made it illegal to place any sort of wagers on sports events throughout the United States except a few states. PASPA was repealed 20 years later in 2018 by the Supreme Court. That gave a fresh start to both sportsbooks and bettors.
It took a few years after 2018 for things to finally find a middle ground where some states still have betting on sports outlawed, but the trend is that more and more states are legalising it. There are even effective online sports gambling laws in some. This is how the situation looks regarding in-person and mobile betting.
| State | In-Person Betting | Mobile Betting |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Coming Soon | Coming Soon |
| Alaska | TBD | TBD |
| Arizona | Yes | Yes |
| Arkansas | Yes | No |
| California | TBD | TBD |
| Colorado | Yes | Yes |
| Connecticut | Yes | Yes |
| Delaware | Yes | No |
| Florida | Yes | Yes |
| Georgia | TBD | TBD |
| Hawaii | No | No |
| Idaho | No | No |
| Illinois | Yes | Yes |
| Indiana | Yes | Yes |
| Iowa | Yes | Yes |
| Kansas | Yes | No |
| Kentucky | No | No |
| Louisiana | Yes | Coming Soon |
| Maine | No | Coming Soon |
| Maryland | Yes | Coming Soon |
| Massachusetts | Yes | TBD |
| Michigan | Yes | Yes |
| Minnesota | No | No |
| Mississippi | Yes | TBD |
| Missouri | TBD | TBD |
| Montana | Yes | No |
| Nebraska | Yes | No |
| Nevada | Yes | Yes |
| New Hampshire | No | Yes |
| New Jersey | Yes | Yes |
| New Mexico | Yes | No |
| New York | Yes | Yes |
| North Carolina | Yes | No |
| North Dakota | Yes | No |
| Ohio | TBD | TBD |
| Oklahoma | TBD | TBD |
| Oregon | Yes | Yes |
| Pennsylvania | Yes | Yes |
| Pennsylvania | Yes | Yes |
| Rhode Island | Yes | Yes |
| South Carolina | No | No |
| South Dakota | Yes | Onsite |
| Tennessee | No | Yes |
| Texas | No | No |
| Utah | No | No |
| Vermont | No | No |
| Virginia | Yes | Yes |
| Washington | Yes | No |
| West Virginia | Yes | Yes |
| Wisconsin | No | No |
| Wyoming | No | Yes |
Sports Gambling Laws in the UK
| 📆 Year Legalised | 1961 |
| 🔞 Legal Betting Age | 18 |
| 🏇 Sports Available | All Sports |
| 🏠 Betting Parlors | Legal |
| 💻 Online Betting | Legal |
| 👮♂️ Official Regulator | UK Gambling Commission |
The Betting and Gaming Act of 1960 established sports gambling as a legal activity. It came into effect on January 1, 1961. Since then, UK punters have been permitted by law to place wagers on sports events without exceptions. That is done under the supervision of the UK Gambling Commission – the official regulatory body of Great Britain. We’ve put down some quick facts about the sports betting laws in the UK.
Countries with the Strictest Sports Gambling Laws
If you think you’re given a hard time because you have to pay a tax on your sports betting winnings, think again. The citizens of some countries don’t even have the luxury of having regulated online gambling operators at hand where to stake bets. Of course, the driving reason for harsh measures usually is because the alternative is much worse. We are talking about underage gambling, problem gambling, and money laundering. Here are the most unforgiving sports betting laws by country.
India
In a country where cricket is accepted as a religion, it’s very important that the online sports gambling laws can clearly draw the line between what is permitted and what is not. Well, they don’t. More precisely, there aren’t such laws. The Public Gambling Act of 1867 and The Information Technology Act 2000 don’t prove advanced enough to set rules for betting the way it is conducted nowadays.
As a result, India is in a grey zone when it comes to online betting on sports. The country’s legislation is far from having the necessary definitions to put into order the quickly expanding online gambling industry. At least betting is not prosecuted with the full severity of the penal code as the latter is rather undeveloped when it comes to that particular case. As a closing point – it’s believed that horse racing is the safest thing to bet on in India.
USA
What in some more progressive states is considered part of the daily existence can get you into serious trouble in other more conservative states. You should know how the online sports betting laws are laid out in the state you live in. If the state policy is dead set against such activity, perpetrators could be looking at a prison sentence aside a few thousand dollar fine. Here’s a brief walkthrough of the penal system of the United States as it applies to crimes related to sports betting.
- 20 years in federal prison – For money laundering from illegal gambling businesses. A good example to reference is the ‘United States vs. Scheinberg’ case, also known as ‘Poker Black Friday’.
- One year in prison and $3,000 fine – In Minnesota, gambling convictions could lead to one year of jail time and a fine of up to $3,000.
- Six months in jail and a $1,000 fine – In accordance with California gambling law, any gambling activity in the state – except the state lottery – is illegal and can lead to spending time in prison an being fined.
- Three months in jail and a $1,000 fine – in Wisconsin, placing bets or even entering a premise with the intention to do so is considered a Class B misdemeanour and is punishable by law.
For the sake of illustrating a point, we cherrypicked just four of the lawful ways betting is penalised in the States. Those are barely scratching the surface of the penal code of the country. The main reason for that is in some states sports betting may be partially legal, but the part of it that’s not legal is punishable by law. It’s true that the fines are not that serious, but the time potentially spent in jail, we are sure, can make anyone reconsider.
Rest of the World
The countries you don’t want to be caught betting in are The United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Japan, North Korea, China, and Qatar. Whether it’s for political reasons or a refusal to accept the new norm, these countries are rather unhospitable towards wagering on sports and have set up written sports gambling laws to discourage anyone from trying. However, things get doubly more complicated if you get caught wagering as a tourist. In The United Arab Emirates, that could mean serving up to two years behind bars.
In Brunei (another Islamic country) and North Korea, the punishment for overstepping the sports gambling laws is nonetheless tougher. China takes strong exception to organised gambling as well, let alone provided by offshore operators. The strong internet censorship in China negates that possibility almost by default. Although the Chinese are historically prone to gambling, the government has made the necessary steps to make it near impossible to bet illegally and get away with it.
Legal Betting Age by Country
Looking at the countries of the world, we can note there’s an apparent disagreement on what the legal sports betting age seems to be. Even so, we can categorise countries with legal betting into three groups, depending on the age at which it’s legal to wager on sports. The biggest group is the one where the sports gambling laws authorise players 18 and above to place wagers. Here are the age groups as specified by the sports betting laws by country.
| Country | Age |
|---|---|
| Oceania, Abkhazia, Albania, Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Lituania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Hong Kong, Israel, Laos, Russia, Singapore, Tajikistan, Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Belize, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela | 18 |
| Canada, South Korea | 19 |
| Armenia, India, Lebanon, Macau, Malaysia, Taiwan | 21 |
One thing important to highlight is that sports betting is a very specific type of gambling and is not to be mixed up with the other forms of wagering. That’s to say, the gambling age restrictions around the world are strictly divided into categories that correspond to each individual type of wagering. For you, the takeaway is that if, at 18, you are legally allowed to partake in the lottery, you might not be eligible to register at a US casino site. That said, some countries apply the same legal age requirements to all online gambling products. For example, if you want to bet on sports, buy lottery tickets, or play roulette online in Croatia or Slovakia, you can do so once you are 18. This is also the legal age for most of the Italian online casinos.
Underage Gambling
Underage gambling is a tough problem to get a handle on, no matter the country we are talking about. Censure and advertisement regulation can do a lot to limit the number of minors betting online, but it’s ultimately up to the sportsbooks to make a stand and take measures towards this rather destructive trend. These are some of the most respectable responsible gambling organisations:
- European Gaming and Betting Association
- National Council on Problem Gambling
- International Center for Responsible Gaming
- GamCare
- American Gaming Association
And a lot of the sportsbooks – if not all – actually do care about putting barriers between their gaming platforms and underage Internet users. The bookies of good reputations go to great lengths to verify the identity of their customers in order to limit the effects of money laundering and underage betting.
Sports Betting Integrity and Anti-Corruption
There are areas where the online sports gambling laws are unable to make a change. We are talking about match-fixing. There are but a few establishments out there fighting this corrupted practice on a global scale. A lot of good work is done by non-profit organisations, working in locksteps with some of the best betting operators. The three bodies that play a major role in combatting match-fixing are The International Betting Integrity Association, the International Centre for Sport Security and FederBet.
Conclusion
It’s a well-known fact that Canada, the USA, India, and even Germany, don’t have the benefit of a centralised sports betting law system. That means, in the same country, there will be jurisdictions with a different outlook on the legality of sports gambling and the minimum age for it.
So, we urge you to get to know the local law, in case you live in a province or state with its own laws and rules regarding gambling. For example, the complicated situation created by the sports betting law in India is one that requires a lot of attention.
FAQ
It’s impossible to accurately review all countries’ betting laws, so instead, we answered what appear to be the most popular questions on the topic. If you live in a country where online or in-person sports gambling is legal, the next step will be to learn about the presence or absence of any other relevant details. The below question and answer section can help you with that.
