How Legalization of Online Gambling Happens
Thursday, August 27th, 2009How the legalization of online gaming will unfold is unknown, but if you take a look at how it’s happened in other countries, you can get a good view of how it happens. Take the Czech Republic for example. In former times the republic outlawed online gambling. Despite that, there of course were illegal rings being operated and many good citizens partaking in the sport. The state of the republic and its poverty pushed many citizens to take a chance and wager their earnings in hopes for a big win.
As a result, bookies became more and more popular. Some growing to million-dollar businesses while taking bets illegally. One of the biggest concerns was the growing number of minors participating in the illegal act. Many groups were calling for regulation of online gambling to thwart minors from their hobby and protect them from legal action. In the end, the republic decided to regulate online gambling by giving its five biggest bookies permits from the Finance Ministry. The goal was to introduce online gambling, in a legal form, to the communities.
Fortuna was one of the booking agencies that received a permit. Its executive Tomas Bahnik stated, “We are sad and bitter that foreign online betting companies are allowed to operate in the Czech Republic without any control. There is no legal restriction. So basically they operate in this country illegally. So we want to have the same opportunities as foreign companies.” He also stated he believed that foreign online casinos were taking possibly hundreds of millions of dollars from inside the Czech Republic and making it revenue for other countries. In addition, citizens were spending their monies on those other countries while “making no contribution to taxes or employment within the republic.” In January of this year the licenses were issued to the five largest bookies in the republic. Because they were aware, each of the five companies were ready for the transition into legalization and happily set up shop for their business.
This seems to be the framework that most countries are going to take as they move into the legalization of online gambling. First there is an address to the prevalence of illegal gambling. Then there is the recognition of money being channeled out of the country due to lack of legalization. Then countries institute a trial period where regulation is used. Only time will tell how many countries will travel down this same road, and how successful they will be.

