Gambling Policies in EU Are Changing Constantly - Here's What You Need to Know
Europe may be considered a single territory when discussing economics and many regulations, but gambling regulations are not one of them.
Whereas the single market that allows free trade between EU countries, and continent-wide regulations are manufactured at the EU, gambling is one area that is regulated by individual nations.
This means anyone wanting to understand the gambling laws and policies across Europe needs to look at each country's stance individually. As gambling policies evolve continually for the benefit of players, it can be hard to keep track of the different regulations. Here is a rundown on the busiest gambling locations within Europe and their recent laws.
Gambling in the UK
The UK is still an EU country at the time of writing and will always be a European country. Their gambling laws are strict but they work to ensure gambling can remain an aspect of life to be enjoyed.
Recent changes in 2019 have forced UK online casinos, such as the popular PartyCasino, to verify players before they place bets. The usual practice that documents to verify age only had to be handed over before a withdrawal or within three days. This has been cut to make sure nobody under the age of 18 can access gambling services, even if only for a short time.
Gambling in Spain
Spain has reshuffled their deck on gambling laws frequently with new legislation implemented within the last decade. The country's gambling policies are overseen by the nation's 17 regions. However, recent changes have reduced the autonomy over each region to provide blanket-wide regulations - without removing regional governance altogether. Notably, not all of Spain's regions permit in-play sports betting.
Gambling in Italy
Known for their laid-back attitude to life, sometimes at a cost of getting things done, Italians have arguably the most relaxed gambling laws in Europe to date. Their policies are so relaxed that sports betting takes place in some retail outlets. If this wasn't enough, recent regulation edits in 2011 have enabled these locations to also offer casino and poker games as well.
Gambling in France
France is a little more complicated although their gambling laws are fair and safe. They use three different governing bodies to oversee the regulations and policy implementation of three different types of gambling. There is a group in charge of horse racing only, one for betting games and lottery games, and a third only for online gambling.
Gambling in Germany
Germany is a place even more complex than France when it comes to gambling policies. Legislation was introduced in 2008 that banned all types of online betting and gambling, with the exception of horse racing. Challenges followed with claims that EU rules had been breached.
The European Court of Justice somewhat agreed and told Germany to become more liberal, which they did apart from one German state. This state, Schleswig Holstein, adopted its own regulations that were even more liberal than the rest of the country. More gambling legislation changes are expected in Germany.