If you are looking for some online casinos in 2023/24 then where do you start?
The world wide web offers literally thousands and thousands of gambling, gaming and casino websites. All around the world, some are regulated and trusted, whereas others are not so ethical or secure, think about it, you are paying in your hard earned money and investing that money and time, in the hope of winning whilst enjoying the game play – you would want to ensure the online casino you choose is professionally operated.
Gambling is an ancient pastime and the introduction of the internet has changed how we gamble, it is very easy these days to sit in your lounge or even bedroom, or a coffee shop, of the pub, or on holiday and play online casinos, but with that ease of use comes the dangers of addiction, or playing when you need a rush of excitement or adrenalin.
Online casinos need to be regulated as a result, to offer great entertainment but also to protect you, as the player, and your money.
In the UK, it is The Gambling Commission who regulate everything from high street arcades, to betting shops, bingo halls, casinos, gaming machine providers who place their machines in bars and pubs, to gambling software providers, and the large scale lottery operators which everyone will know and use at some point in their life. Remote gambling which is mainly online and operated by your phone is also covered by The Gambling Commission, however, this is only British-based gambling equipment that is regulated.
For the U.S.A., it is not as straight forward, probably because it is such a huge country with so many independent states who all have their own laws and governance.
In general, U.S. States have a gaming control board (GCB), which can be known by a variety of names such as a gambling board, or a gambling control board, a casino control board, or gaming commission. These are government organisations who help to regulate casinos and other types of gaming in particular states and areas.
The European Union is more coherent, as a single entity with a set of rules and laws to cover all member countries, it works by regulating land based casinos under state law, not federal law. There is an Interstate Treaty which covers sports betting licensing. Where it gets a little complicated is, social and financial betting, and betting on visual sports is a big no-no. Regional councils were set up to oversee land-based sports betting at ground roots level.
Other countries such as Malta have their own specific rulings on gaming. The Malta Gaming Authority, is responsible for allowing Malta gaming licenses. This was in light of online casinos becoming popular in 2001. Casinos with MGA license are governed and regulated by the organisation as are other types of gambling in Malta. The MGA is one of the most sought after licenses in the gambling industry.
So, if you want to use a trusted casino or gambling website, always check who it is regulated by in the footer of the website or on the about page. This will be a sure sign of whether you can trust the casino or gaming site. It is very easy to then check the regulating body is respectable and legitimate no matter where it exists in the world or on the web.