UK Casinos - Euro Casino Online - Gambling Review.com

Unlike the United States, Europe and the United Kingdom have allowed their online casinos to flourish. In October of 2006 the United States passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. The law did not outlaw online casinos but it did make operations difficult as it became illegal for banks and credit institutions to accept transactions from internet gambling sites. While the United States decided to go with prohibition as an answer to one of the worlds fastest growing industries the UK passed the Gambling Act 2005 and gambling remains unregulated at the European Union level and laws are left to the interpretations of individual member states.

The UK is the first major country to legalize and regulate online casinos and the process has been overall successful. In 2005 the country replaced gambling laws that had been in place since 1845. Special attention was given to online casinos, which have only continued to grow in popularity since the turn of the century.

Instead of outlawing online casinos or sabotaging the industry, as the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act did in the United States, the UK chose regulation. Regulation was the best answer to most of their concerns. Now the government can put mandatory preventative measures in place to protect minors from gambling sites as well as protect citizens from unethical companies. Taxation of the very lucrative internet gambling business also brings millions of dollars in to government coffers each year.

Online casinos are handled in a very different way in Europe. Again, online casinos are not legislated on a Union level in Europe. The individual member nations are allowed to regulate gambling laws in the way they see fit. However, there is an open boarders trade agreement between the nations. Therefore nations that have made an effort to regulate online casinos, like France and Germany, are allowed to offer their services to other countries in Europe.

There is some resistance to online casinos in Europe. Some countries are making an effort to keep out online casinos from other countries to kill any competition threats to their state run gambling monopolies. That is against the treaty of the Union. Countries are not allowed to keep competition out in order to protect monopolies or the European Commission will charge them with protectionism, as they did with Greece.

Online casinos are continuing to grow all over the world. Just recently South Africa made room for the flourishing industry. Some how the United States has kept the damaging UIGEA intact. Online casinos have been seen as a pure gambling establishment, meaning that they depend on gaming activity for revenues; as opposed to brick and mortar casinos that have branched out into entertainment, dining, and hospitality. Pure gambling operations have proven themselves recession proof during this time of global economic crisis. Many countries, including the US, have sought out new sources of government revenues. Regulating and taxing online casinos may be a great idea.

There may be hope on the horizon yet for online casino in the United States. Senator Barack Obama is currently in good standing to succeed George W. Bush as the next president of the United States. It is well known that Obama is a poker player. There is a good chance that he will look to the example of the Europe and the UK and chose regulation over prohibition.