5 Reasons Governments Oppose Online Gambling

As someone that plays online casino games in Australia, you probably know the legal situation surrounding online gambling. However, people ask us often why the Australian government, or other national governments, don’t go ahead and regulate online gambling. There are several reasons behind this and today, we will give you some of the most common reasons that governments fail to regulate online gambling.

Pressure From Gambling Companies in the Region

What many people don’t realize is that many live casinos and live gambling companies are vehemently opposed to online gambling. That’s because they feel that online casinos will cut deep into their profits. While we won’t claim that iGaming doesn’t take away from live gambling profits, the decrease in profits is usually a lot less than most companies claim.

Usually, it is companies that don’t offer any form of online gambling that are the biggest opponents of iGaming. They are trying to protect their business model and they go out of their ways to pressure the government to block online casinos.

Governments Believing False Narratives on Gambling

Whenever you hear about a country considering iGaming, you’ll hear a lot of the old arguments that using false narratives. You’ll hear that online casinos are a haven for organized crimes or gambling scams. Next, you’ll hear that problem gambling will skyrocket because there will be a “casino in every home.” Another popular argument is that “children will start gambling online.”

The problem with these outdated arguments is that regulation helps to stop all of these activities. Regulated online casinos actively combat organized crime. Next, they also put in safeguards to protect children and problem gamblers. The reality is that the majority of underhanded behavior that happens in connection with online gambling happens at unregulated casinos – not at regulated ones.

Governments Don’t Understand Online Gambling

The problem with a lot of federal governments is that they are run by men and women who grew up in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Some do not understand everything that online gambling can bring to a region. They may understand that iGaming will bring in tax revenues, but they don’t understand the ancillary impacts that the companies will have.

Online gambling companies create jobs in various sectors ranging from advertising to IT, and more. If a company is already operating a live venue, online casinos will bring in more traffic to live venues. More traffic leads to more revenue, which means a greater need for workers. This leads to more jobs and more income for a community.

Too Difficult to Change Current Laws

A major roadblock in some countries to legalizing online gambling is current laws. Many countries have outdated laws that address gambling, and iGaming gets grouped into these laws. These antiquated laws don’t account for skill games like online poker. Often, the laws were created to address something unrelated, such as laws related to lotteries that are used to block other forms of gambling.

What makes it worse is that in some areas, it is extremely difficult to change the laws. Some countries require voter referendums to even consider a law change. Others must have a majority vote to change laws related to state or national constitutions or charters. In other countries, changing a law related to gambling will require the support of a party that will likely never support the issue. In some cases, it is too much trouble to try and get the change the laws.

Voters Don’t Support Online Gambling

The biggest obstacle in some regions to iGaming is the average citizen. There are still many regions of the world where gambling, in general, is still taboo. Couple that with false narratives and beliefs about online gambling and you have a voter base adverse to the concept.

Generally, the older the general voting public is, the less likely they will support online gambling. That’s why it is important that the younger generations make their voices heard regarding this and other matters. You will be the ones that lawmakers will listen to in the future. You will be the primary taxpayers and voters. Over time, as the general voting populace supports online casinos, this makes it easier for lawmakers to do the same.