adminThere is still an ongoing debate about the legal status of online gambling in several countries. Proponents of regulation are stressing its advantages, while opponents counter their arguments with reasons to ban it. There are examples of outright bans on the entire industry in some countries. But these serve more as an argument for regulation. Here’s why.
People will find a way to play anyway
Banning online gambling simply doesn’t work because people who want to play online will find a way to do it. Over the years, different countries have found different methods of restricting access to online gambling outlets – and players found ways to circumvent these.
In the US, banks were prohibited from processing payments to and from companies involved in online gambling. As a result, the interest in e-wallets and other alternative payment methods skyrocketed in the US. Other countries have tried to block access of the players to offshore online casinos on an ISP level. Depending on the region, the attempt to “censor the internet” was met with strong resistance by the civil society or players simply used VPNs and other tools to circumvent the bans
Instead of allowing players to seek out often shady companies that work without any government control, it’s a better solution to regulate local operators. At least this way governments can maintain a certain level of control over the operators, and impose customer protection and responsible gaming rules upon them.
Bringing the grey market to the light
If you take a look at playcasino.co.za, you’ll find that it lists not only licensed South African casinos but others that have a more shaky foundation for working. The thing is, South Africa’s gambling laws are ambiguous at best when it comes to online gambling, and online casinos in special. Thus, casinos often operate in a legal grey zone.
A comprehensive regulation of online gambling would bring this grey market to the “light” side, impose customer protection and responsible gaming measures on them, and most importantly, stop the players’ money from flowing out of the country.
Tax revenues
This brings us to another important benefit of regulating online gambling: tax revenues. An offshore online casino operator will not pay any taxes on the revenues it generates in a country with an unregulated gambling industry. Together with the licensing fees, this can be a significant chunk of money that can truly make a difference at the end of the fiscal year.
How much, you may ask? Well, according to numbers published by South Africa’s National Gambling Board (NBG), the (partially regulated) betting industry has generated taxes worth R3.2 billion (around $175 million) in a single fiscal year.
Why every country should regulate online gambling? There are multiple reasons. Beyond the tax revenues and licensing fees flowing into the state budget, there are other reasons, like keeping bad actors away and imposing responsible gaming regulations that will protect the vulnerable players from gambling problems.
Online Reporter