Where is Online Gambling Legal in 2025?

Cultural divergence, the economy, legal system, and political situation across countries lead to different ways of treating online gambling. Owing to their unique cultural heritages, countries and regions can adopt an almost unlimited set of standards to regulate gambling in countries where it’s legal. Accordingly, modern regulatory bodies can look toward a virtually exponential growth of different models used worldwide. New regulating bodies appear, laws pass, and old ones change. It’s important to follow the updates before making decisions to avoid breaking the rules of all countries where gambling is legal.

The internet may have a global audience, yet despite this, almost no two countries seem to have the same legal model—covering the same issues with the same look and feel. So, where is online gambling legal in the world? Most countries pass very localised laws, and these gambling regulations can change frequently. So, where is gambling legal?

Global Overview of Online Gambling Laws

Online gambling is legal in many countries but heavily regulated. Europe, the UK, Malta, Sweden, Germany, and others allow licensed operators to operate under strict oversight. The USA permits online gambling in states like New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and it’s regulated by state bodies like NJDGE. Canada allows it provincially, such as in Ontario. Australia only permits sports betting, banning online casinos through the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.

New Zealand restricts gambling to state-run operators, and in Asia, most countries ban online gambling, with exceptions like Singapore and the Philippines. Latin America is growing substantially, with Brazil newly regulating it in 2024 and Colombia allowing licensed sites. Austria has a state monopoly, and unlicensed sites are blocked. Penalties for illegal gambling vary—some countries fine players (Singapore), while others target operators (Germany’s GGL). Always check local laws, as regulations change frequently.

Regulated Gambling Market

Legal and regulated online gambling refers to those jurisdictions where laws and government regulations allow online casinos to offer their services. It refers to a country that creates a legal framework enabling residents to participate in online gaming. The first model allows players to use any licensed sites, regardless of the country of registration of the operator. The second model restricts access only to nationally licensed operators.

Some markets do not actively block access to offshore gambling sites, even if those sites operate without a local license.

Unregulated Gambling Market

Countries where online casinos and gambling are not specifically regulated by the government but also not explicitly prohibited fall under the umbrella of unregulated gambling. People in these nations are free to play at international online casinos. In the countries described as unregulated gambling, the government does not regulate gambling. The absence of specific prohibitions means that citizens may access international gambling sites, but this does not necessarily imply full legal recognition or protection. Safety of play is a big concern; if a country is unregulated, no authority has vetted the sites operating in or serving that country which means that players have no legal recourse in case of disputes or unfair practices. So, the recommendation is only to join the safest casinos.

Illegal Gambling Market

In most cases, opening a casino company is unlawful. But are there legal ways to gamble online? It is relatively prohibited, as some countries will take legal action against a resident caught visiting an online casino site. In contrast, the best countries for legal gambling will not prosecute their residents for such actions. There are over 70 banned markets in 2024 where it is illegal to run a gambling business. Some allow players to visit offshore platforms (or don’t bother prosecuting them if they do), and others punish players who visit a country where gambling is legal.

TOP 10 Countries Where Online Gambling is Legal and Regulated in 2025

The global gambling industry is changing quickly. Where is online gambling legal in the world? By 2025, it will be something we can hardly recognise as countries adapt and change their laws to keep up with the technological advancements we are seeing and because public attitudes are changing quite a bit. While some places where gambling is legal find it a good source of revenue, other parts of the world have limits or even bans. So, where is online gambling legal in the world?

United Kingdom

Residents of the United Kingdom customers can access many services offered by sites inside and outside the region—if those sites are licensed to operate by the UK Gambling Commission. Sites already licensed to operate in certain jurisdictions that the UK allowed before 2014 could accept UK customers. Those websites couldn’t be certified by any regulatory body that wasn’t on the UK’s list of countries where online gambling is legal. The Gambling Commission keeps a roll call of all the sites it licenses. Each one has to follow commands laid down in a rule book.

USA

The United States of America has legal demands and sets gambling regulations at the state rather than the federal level. That means that in certain states, one can bet at will; some states necessitate a local betting permit to operate legally, and others don’t have any such requirement. In these same states, operators might not even need a license to offer gambling as part of their business. License rules and requirements for operators can vary from state to state and may often not always be fully transparent. It didn’t specifically make gambling a no-no, but it did change the processing of payments.

American banks and other financial institutions could no longer process payments in and out of gambling businesses if those businesses were in countries where gambling was prohibited. Many of these operators continued to work with Americans, and gambling continued to be a popular pastime. Today, things are even more muddled as technology has opened up new frontiers. In the USA, the legality of gambling depends on the laws of each state; thus, gambling may be prohibited in some states and allowed in others.

Canada

It's unlawful to provide Canadians with betting services unless the company has a license from the Canadian government. No law tells Canadians they can’t gamble with foreign online gaming operations. The provinces decide how to regulate in their regions. It’s only illegal if the gambling service is from within Canada.

Netherlands

For the last several years, we've been assured that the government is going to get off the dime and put together some conservative plans to both legalise and regulate the market. The not-so-surprising upshot is that betting is relatively safe in the Netherlands, at least as far as the players are concerned.

Brazil

Only a couple of months have passed since the country allowed its gambling industry to begin operating. Now, proposals are being made to expand significantly the number of ways Brazilians can gamble. The country has recently regulated its gambling sector—allowing only certain forms of gambling under watchful eyes.

The Philippines

Among the gambling activities that Philippine law allows are the following: gaming in government-licensed casinos, wagering on the outcomes of sporting events, betting on horse races, and much, much more. But to do any of this legally, you must pass a means test (which applies to both gaming forms that these regulators have decided to tax and forms of gaming that they have not gotten around to taxing yet). However, even with these pro-gambling regulations, anti-gambling provisions are still on the books.

Austria

In Austria, online gambling is legal but strictly regulated. The country has a state monopoly regulating most gambling forms, with licenses granted to operators under the Austrian Gambling Act. Private operators may offer online gambling services if they obtain an Austrian license; however, strict regulations exist. Unlicensed offshore gambling sites are illegal for Austrian players, and banks are required to block payments to them.

Malta

The Lotteries and Gaming Authority handles all gambling regulations, including governance and licensing in Malta. Indeed, Malta is not a jurisdiction that shies away from gaming. It has a wide range of (remote) gambling activities that can be licensed and conducted under the LGA’s watchful eye. If Malta did shy away from gaming, it seems hard to resist the lure of its very tax-friendly regime. Gambling companies that might not find such a warm welcome elsewhere are welcomed there. The LGA scrutinises potential companies wishing to obtain a license and operate within the jurisdiction. Moreover, Malta isn’t a jurisdiction that shies away from gaming; it offers a wide range of (remote) gambling activities that can be licensed.

Australia and New Zealand

It's illegal for Australian gambling sites to offer certain gambling services; only sports betting and lottery games are allowed. Oversight is the job of both the national and local governments. No law specifically stops Australians and New Zealanders from using foreign gambling sites. The gambling laws in New Zealand are refreshingly clear. The Gambling Act spells out what is legal and illegal in no uncertain terms. Most online gambling and gaming types are banned, but this only applies to businesses based here. As said, the act is refreshingly straightforward and makes it perfectly legal for Kiwis to use offshore sites.

Curacao

Nowadays, Curacao is a place where gambling is permitted and a big part of the local economy. Of its many businesses, the gambling industry ranks among the most important. Curacao started dishing out licenses to online betting and gaming companies in 1996. That’s when e-Gaming Curacao was born—the world’s oldest authority for licensing gambling operations. It covers practically everything an online gaming operator might want to do. Getting a license from Curacao is much easier than getting one from the United Kingdom or New Jersey. Curacao is now a jurisdiction for—almost a tax haven.