Understanding the Legal Landscape of Online Gambling in 2025

When it comes to understanding the legal landscape of online gambling in 2025, it’s still a bit of a minefield, especially in the United States, where things are far more complicated than in many other countries that have legalised one or more forms of online gambling activities. 

With that said, here’s everything you need to know about the legality of iGaming sites where you live and how you can find the safest gambling sites that are legally permitted to operate there. 

Is online gambling legal everywhere?

No. Each country is different regarding how it views online gambling activities and has taken a different approach to organising its own laws and regulating online gambling within its borders. 

The main types of online betting services typically include online casinos, dedicated poker rooms, bingo & lottery sites, dogs and horse racing, and pari-mutuel and sports betting. 

You also have raffles and prize draw competition websites, sweepstakes casinos (aka social casinos), and sweepstakes sportsbooks (aka social sportsbooks), which don’t involve any real money gambling. 

However, although most authorities don’t deem these alternative, risk-free sites gambling, some government authorities do, which is why laws vary so dramatically from one jurisdiction to another. 

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Some countries/provinces/states have not legalised any of these forms of online betting activities, whereas others have fully legalised anywhere from one to all of them and allow their citizens to place bets, but only on sites that are fully licensed and regulated by local government-controlled gaming commissions. 

For example, all of the above are legally permitted in Delaware, but in Tennessee, only bingo and lotteries are permitted. Legal gambling ages to place bets online or offline also vary significantly across the US, with some states setting the minimum at 18 and others at 21.

In most European countries, almost all forms of online gambling are legally permitted, and you will typically find that you must be at least 18 years old to gamble here. 

How do I know if it’s legal to bet online where I live?

To find out if online gambling is allowed where you live, the best thing to do is to visit the official government website for the country that you live in. 

You should be able to find the answer you’re looking for within a couple of minutes, or you can just perform a simple search in your preferred web browser’s search engine without visiting the main government website. 

In some countries where online gambling hasn’t yet been legalised, players often use virtual private network (VPN) tools to access foreign-controlled iGaming sites (aka offshore online casinos or sports betting sites) because these sites fall outside of their own country’s jurisdiction, and there’s usually no laws preventing them from playing on sites like this. 

Which licensing authorities and gaming commissions are known for having the highest industry standards and imposing the toughest controls over their licensees?

That’s a good question, and the answer is that not all gaming commissions/regulators/licensing authorities have the same high standards and are known for protecting their players as much as others. 

When you ask the experts, they will tell you that the United Kingdom Gambling Commission is often regarded as the world’s first ‘true’ top-tier online gambling licensing authority/gaming commission because of its extremely high standards and because of the extensive testing and background checks, in-depth investigations, and rigorous vetting process it carries out over its licensees. 

Other top-tier licensing authorities that also have similar high standards, ensuring players are well protected and only have access to the safest iGaming sites, are the following, to name just a few:

• New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement

• Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario

• Michigan Gaming Control Board

• Malta Gaming Authority

• Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board

• Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner

• Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission

  
  

Final thoughts

Players can also trust sites that hold licenses from the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, Swedish Gambling Authority, Danish Gambling Authority, and Belgian Gaming Commission. You will also find many reputable sites licensed by Curacao eGaming and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. 

However, mid-tier licensing authorities don’t hold such high standards, and your safest option is to stick to gambling on sites licensed by top-tier authorities. Also, avoid signing up to ones licensed by what industry leaders refer to as rubber stamp (bottom tier) licensing authorities and never play on unlicensed and unregulated sites. 

The most trusted sites have excellent cybersecurity measures, rewarding loyalty programs, top-notch 24-hour support, thousands of games from award-winning providers, and so much more to enjoy.