The European Union (EU) is unified when it comes to economic affairs and member states have to comply with its policies. However, they retain the right to enforce their own laws. Each EU state has its own gambling laws. The EU does not have a gambling regulatory policy that applies to all EU countries. Each member state is free to regulate its gambling industry as it sees fit as long as it complies with the EU’s trade policies.
Most European countries permit licensed operators to offer at least one chance-based game online. Some have legalized more forms of online gambling, allowing their residents to legally bet on sports events and play casino and poker games online. Gambling is heavily monopolized in some countries and partially liberalized in others.
Many EU countries have enacted strong gambling laws, set up regulatory bodies, and created licensing procedures so that their players can enjoy safe, reliable, licensed, and well-regulated gambling services. European gambling regulators not only want to generate revenue, but also protect local players from gambling harm.
Dangers of Playing at Unlicensed Offshore Online Casinos
Since the Coronavirus pandemic has led to the suspension of several sports events and the temporary closure of land-based casinos, pubs, clubs, and restaurants, people have been turning to online gambling sites, most of which are unlicensed. Almost all EU countries have made it illegal for operators to run their businesses without a license. Playing at unlicensed casinos is dangerous. The Swedish case: after the local license was implemented in 2019, the demand for casinos without Swedish license has grown rapidly: casinos utan licens & Spelpaus are popular because they offer more bonuses and allow gamblers to play despite self-exclusion in local service Spelpaus.
The following are some of the risks involved with gambling at unlicensed online casinos:
- The online casino may operate on pirated software programs.
- The games may not be fair.
- You will not receive your winnings on time.
- Customer support is unresponsive.
- Unlicensed casinos may shut down and disappear with players’ money.
- Your gambling regulator may block them and you won’t be able to access your funds.
The following are some of the measures implemented by various European gambling regulators to stop illegal casinos from operating in their territories.
Domain Blocking
Most European gambling regulators use domain blocking to stop illegal online casinos. Recently, the European Commission published a 165-page report titled “Evaluation of Regulatory Tools for Enforcing Online Gambling Rules and Channelling Demand Towards Controlled Offers,” in which it explores the effectiveness of domain blocking.
The following are the findings of this report:
- 18 EU countries used website blocking to curb unlicensed online gambling, 12 countries never blocked any website, and four considered the pros and cons of it.
- 12 of the EU countries that blocked websites used DNS blocking, two blocked IP addresses, and the rest used a variety of blocking technologies.
- 19% of the websites blacklisted were inactive. The biggest blacklist was that of Italy, comprising more than 7000 domains and over 63% of them were inactive. Greece blacklisted 2,708 sites and Poland blacklisted 2,379 sites.
- The smallest blacklist was that of Slovenia as it contained just nine websites. This is because Slovenia’s laws required regulators to obtain a court order before its ISPs could block the domain.
- Only 4 EU countries: Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland requested app stores to block gambling and betting apps.
- Only 4 EU countries researched the effectiveness of blocking unlicensed gambling websites. For example, regulators in Estonia found out that nearly a third of local players used ways to overcome the block and access forbidden websites.
Payment Blocking
Blocking financial transactions is another common measure, which EU gambling regulators use to discourage local players from signing up unlicensed online casinos. The regulators penalize domestic banks, payment processors, and financial institutions that fail to decline payments to and from unlicensed casinos.
The following are the findings of the European Commission’s report:
- 16 EU countries have implemented measures that force banks and payment processing companies to block gambling-related transactions between players and unlicensed operators. 13 do not have any such measures.
- Of the 16 states that have such measures, only seven enforce them.
- Of the EU countries that block payments, 53% block accounts of gambling operators, 31% block certain transactions, and 16% target merchant category codes. A third of these countries combine all three methods.
- Most payment blocking measures target traditional credit/debit cards and online payment processors. But Estonia, Norway, and France also targeted cryptocurrencies.
EU regulators have reported partial success with blocking payments. The method does not work if the unlicensed operators hold accounts with foreign banks. Also, identifying unlicensed casinos’ bank accounts is no easy task.
FAQs
Why do residents of EU countries play at unlicensed online casinos?
Many residents of EU countries that have regulated online gambling prefer playing at online casinos not licensed in their own countries. This is because these unlicensed casinos are free from the restrictions imposed by their country’s regulatory bodies.
Most of the residents looking for unlicensed online casinos have registered with their country’s self-exclusion program and cannot access online gambling sites licensed in their own country.
Can EU players get into trouble with the law for playing at unlicensed online casinos?
EU players will not get into trouble with the law for playing at unlicensed online casinos. This is because the laws target only operators of gambling services, not individual players.
What action do European regulators take against unlicensed online casinos?
European regulators issue a warning to unlicensed online casinos, get court orders to block local players’ access to them, block payments to and from these sites, request app stores to remove apps of unlicensed casinos, and so on to curb play at unlicensed sites.
Why shouldn’t I play at an unlicensed casino?
Your country has no powers over an unlicensed casino and cannot help if you get cheated.
How can I find out if an online gambling site is licensed in my country?
You can check the official website of your regulatory body or check the footer of the website for the logo of your regulatory body or a license number.
