Betting

Now that we can access the internet anywhere in the world, particularly through mobile phones and apps, we take it for granted that we should have the ability to place a bet wherever we are. Unfortunately, this is not always the case when you travel around outside of your home country. Gambling laws are largely determined on a nation by nation basis and this means the online gaming landscape is a patchwork of uncertainty in Europe and across the world. Quite often the ability to place a bet in a specific country is determined solely by your bookmaker.

Betting sites and casinos that want to operate in a territory must either apply for a licence before they can operate (licenced markets) or meet the gambling laws within a country. The betting site itself must also choose to operate in that particular marker.

It helps to know if the operator you bet with is available in the territory you want to visit. In this article we discuss the betting sites with the best foreign coverage, how to find out if the country you are visiting is covered and what other options are available.

What Are The Rules For Betting While Abroad?

It is likely you are reading this because you’ve tried to find information about betting abroad but at each turn you’ve found confusing, unhelpful and often contradicting advice.  The truth is the rules governing gambling across the world are extremely diverse and this means it can be difficult to get a definitive answer to this question.

There are five major types of market when it comes to betting abroad:

• Licensed Unrestricted – In this type of market a betting site must possess a license in order to operate and they must also adhere to the gambling and tax laws in that territory.  If a site is licensed in a region there is a good chance that you can use your online bookmaker abroad, although this shouldn’t be taken for granted, always check first. 
• Licensed Restricted – Differences in law, procedure and tax can mean, on occasion, that you cannot use your UK account in a foreign territory, alternatively you may only be able to access some markets or sections of the usual site.  You may also not be applicable for certain offers or games either.
• Regulated – This a grey area where countries have gambling laws but they do not license online operators directly. Whether your bookie chooses to operate in a regulated market is often entirely up to them, although beware it is always the customers responsibility to check the gambling laws in the country you are betting from.
• Unregulated – This sounds dodgy but it isn’t necessarily.  Unregulated markets are made up with a whole range of different countries and this simply covers any nation that has no specific licensing or laws relating to online gaming.  Again it is up to your bookie if they allow you to bet from these places but please beware if you do bet in an unregulated market there may be no protections at all if something goes wrong.
• Illegal – Gambling is either illegal or so heavily restricted in this country that you will not be allowed to bet.  Betting sites do a good job of blocking customers from illegal territories but this isn’t fool proof and there are ways around it (such as using a VPN).  If you take the risk and bet in an illegal territory it could prove costly, not only will you forfeit any winnings and potentially even your account if caught by your bookmaker, you may face a fine or perhaps even worse from local law.  My advice is seriously don’t take the risk.