While many countries restrict online gambling, it is legal in some parts of the United States, some provinces of Canada, many countries of the European Union, and many nations of the Caribbean. In these countries, online gambling service providers must have a license to operate. Some examples of such licensing authorities are the United Kingdom Gambling Commission and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
France recently proposed new laws that would regulate and tax online gambling. Budget minister Eric Woerth stated that the new laws would make the gambling market in France more “adaptable” to the Internet. However, the new laws still prohibit betting exchanges. If passed, these new laws will help regulate and protect consumers. But before the law is implemented, the online gambling industry will need to undergo extensive reform.
The popularity of online gambling has increased significantly since the late 1990s, when fifteen websites existed and eighty by the end of 1997. A Frost & Sullivan report revealed that revenues from online gambling reached $830 million in 1998. The first online poker rooms were also introduced in 1998. In the United States, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act was introduced in the US Senate in 1999, which would have prohibited the sale of online gambling to U.S. citizens. Meanwhile, multiplayer online gambling also came on the scene in 1999.
Despite widespread public support, online gambling is still illegal in the United States. Under the Wire Act, operators can be fined and imprisoned if they violate the law. The exception to this law is if the wagering is legal in the source and destination countries. However, the definition of the Wire Act appears to include the entire telecommunications infrastructure.
