In many countries around the world, the online casino industry is thriving. India is no exception as the market over here is booming. This online casino boom is happening in India despite restrictions from the government. However, a lack of enforcement and loopholes in the law makes it possible for foreign companies to offer services to Indian customers online.
On top of that, there is no stopping an Indian person to sign up and start playing with an online casino. This makes India a non-regulated market, often called a grey market. Compared to the UK for example, a regulated market, it’s a country that allows online casinos to operate and they also issue the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) license to operators active in the UK.
Online Casino Regulations
The two biggest motivators for countries to regulate online casinos are monetary reasons and protecting consumers. The government is able to track the business activity along with its financial statements and effectively collect taxes. Online casino is one of the most profitable areas of business, as such, it can bring large amounts of money to the government in the form of tax revenues.
The other reason is risk factors around people getting in trouble because they gamble too much, where there’s a danger that online casinos become a root for social problems. With regulations in place the government can better trace and enforce that all online casinos abide by responsible gaming guidelines and look out for the safety and well-being of the customers in the casino.
This doesn’t mean that online casinos operating in non-regulated markets such as India are illegitimate sites to play in. There are plenty of countries and regulating authorities in the world that issue remote gambling licenses which allow companies to offer their casino services online in countries like India. These casinos are perfectly legitimate and the countries issuing the licenses are responsible to ensure that the online casinos follow all the rules and guidelines outlined in the license requirements.
Licensing Countries
On the list of countries that issue licenses to the online casinos, businesses are the United Kingdom, Isle of Man, Alderney, Malta, Curacao, Gibraltar, Antigua and Barbuda, and Costa Rica. In all the different licenses you will find important aspects around the safety of individuals, security around personal information and data protection, and of course measures to counteract illegal activities. Another thing these licenses have in common is that the online casino company needs to pay a large fee when applying and receiving the license to operate. Here is a shortlist of some of the commonly shared aspects between different licenses:
- Application fees
- Scrutinize owners and key roles within the company
- What functions and services must be an integral part of the company and what can be outsourced
- Ensure that complaints from the regulatory body are addressed effectively and with immediate action
- Adhere to responsible gaming rules
- Financial database providing transparency into the business for accounting and auditing purposes
- Governing and protecting data of customers
- Certifications that all games offered in the casino are fair
Regulatory Organizations
In addition to licensing countries, there are plenty of individual regulatory organizations that aim to oversee online casino operators. Compared to licenses, there’s no one forcing an online casino operator to become a member of a regulatory organization. The benefit of doing so, however, is to increase trust with customers.
After all, the main purpose of regulatory organizations in the online casino industry is to ensure the fairness of games and prevent problems arising from gambling. Some regulatory organizations that focus on preventing gambling problems are eCorga and EGBA, then there are organizations focusing on the fairness of games and testing of software, some of these include Certified Fair Gaming, Remote Gambling Association, and the Gambling Commission.
