How Many Countries/States are Legal to Play Slot Games?

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Today’s online gambling is developing and overgrowing. Using opportunities for communication technologies gambling started to offer its services online. The industry gains its most of the profit from slot games. Slot games cover more than 70% of the revenue of the gambling industry. Therefore, business people pay special attention to the slot games. Nowadays land-based casinos and online slots have become the favorite cam for the gambling lovers. It is especially popular among players from Europe and the USA.

On the other hand, in Asian countries casino tables are more famous and favorable by players. In several years online gambling industry will develop and will be famous among players. Studies show that by 2022, profit from online slots will reach $635 billion. Also, online slots will occupy a considerable part of the online gambling industry. 

Because of the popularity of gambling games, business owners eager to invest in the industry. However, before opening their own business, most of them have one question: which market should your company focus? Each country has its requirements and licensing procedure. In some states, playing gambling is illegal, yet in others, it is entirely free and legal. In this article, we have examined this question and provided a list of countries for you. 

Playing slots in the USA

online slots

Generally, online gambling is legal in the USA. However, each state is responsible for its laws and regulations for gambling games. According to Federal Law in 2018, Sports bettings have become legal. Before that decision, the approximate money spent on illegal sports betting was around $150 billion. Therefore, the government decided to make it legal for preventing unlawful actions. If you are gambling players, it is crucial for you to read the gaming laws of your state you live in before starting to play online slots. You also should look at the legal status of an online casino you want to create an account. One can easily find out that information from the website of the online casino. You can search for known certification and licensing available on the website.

However, in most of the states, online gambling is legal .for example, New Jersey has a lot of legitimate online casino sites.

Nowadays, many states are reviewing their laws about online gambling. In Nevada, many online poker sites are legal. In online casinos the most played games are slots. Therefore, online casino providers are working to develop games with excellent graphics, sound effects, and images to gain satisfaction from players.  Now companies try to provide the more real and advanced gaming experience for players. In the future, more online casino software developers will gain the advantage of technology and develop more games that include virtual reality.  

Gambling laws in the USA

American Gaming Association states that there exist approximately 460 casinos in the USA. The most popular ones are in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are more than 100 casinos in Las Vegas, and in 2017, it brought $6 billion in revenue to the gambling industry. 

As we have mentioned earlier, each state is free to regulate its laws for gambling. However, according to federal law, betting is legal within the borders of the USA. There only several restrictions on online gambling. Only two states restrict entirely gambling, which includes Hawaii and Utah. in these states, all kinds of gambling are legal, which means you cannot play the lottery, sports betting, etc. You cannot even play bingo on your Hawaii vacation. There are several reasons for that. People in Hawaii are against gambling games because they believe that the place is for a family vacation, and gambling could bring a lot of problems. However, there are also many people supporting that gambling in Hawaii could bring a massive amount of additional profit to the state. 

The only two states in which gambling is entirely legal statewide are Nevada and Louisiana. To operate an online casino business in these states, you need to have a gambling license. In all other countries, only some geographical areas have gambling restrictions and are illegal. 

Playing slots in the UK

slot games

Generally, gambling is legal in the UK. Especially online gambling started to occupy the major part of the economy. Gambling has become legal in 1845 in the UK, and since then, everyone over 18 can play all kinds of gambling games. The UK has become home for the most reputable online gambling businesses. The government pays special attention to the right of the players. Now the Gambling Commission (UKGC) is responsible for the distribution of licenses and regulation of gambling businesses.

Each business owner that wants to start an online gambling business needs to gain permission from the Gambling Commission. Otherwise, your gambling business will be illegal. In the UK, finding out whether the gambling business is legal or not is so easy. You can check whether the company has the Commission’s logo or not. If you can see the logo, then it means a gambling site is a safe and trusted one. You can click the logo of Commission, and it will take you to the official website of Gambling Commission. Here you can see the detailed status of the license. 

Sometimes you can see the logo of other Commission, yet do not worry it is also possible. It is because the UK government has accepted some jurisdictions as meeting all the requirements. These jurisdictions are in the whitelist of Gambling Commission and can distribute licenses for the gambling sites. For being in the whitelist of the UK, these jurisdictions pass long process. Initially, they submit presentations to the Secretary of State. After several additional procedures, Secretary of State decides whether the authority meets the requirements. If they meet the requirements, then the government allow them to distribute gambling services and products. 

How laws in the UK affect you? 

slot games

If you are the citizen and over 18, then you can be sure that you are in one of the most regulated and safest gambling markets. It means you can play each gambling game, including slot games without any limitations. The government control all the required licenses for online gambling businesses to ensure the website operates legally. Managing all these procedures could be challenging for business owners, but it guarantees that anyone over 18 can play slot games safely and legally. To be sure you can check the license of UKGC in the website before starting to play. It will ensure that you are safe and away from any fraud action. Another advantage you can get from UK gambling is that there are new organizations to help you when you have a question or concern. They help you with gambling addiction. 

The UK market is so competitive as there are more than 1000 license holders available. It includes online casinos and bingo sites. It also could be possible that multiple casinos use one license for operation. This shows that there are more online casinos that we have mentioned. 

Additionally, income from the gambling is not taxable one in the UK. in other words; you do not need to pay any tax based on the amount of betting or gaming. Although the government operates charge for gambling, it does not affect you as a customer. 

Licensed Casinos in the UK

According to the statistics, overall, there are 11,143 premises, 183,928 machines, and 152 casinos in the UK. The total number of employees that have worked in the gambling industry has reached the 106,366. If business owners want to operate legally, they need to apply for a gambling license from the authorities. If you are a business owner, your business offer service for the UK residents but your facilities are nor in the UK; then you do not need to obtain UKGC license. 

Gambling in Canada

Gambling in Canada is legal, but the government, including ten provinces and three territories, regulate the gambling industry. Online casinos are entirely legitimate. However, in Newfoundland & Labrador, the land-based casinos are illegal. Several areas and provinces run their land-based and online casinos, and they have their regulations related to the industry. 

For gamers, the gambling opportunity in Canada is excellent. There are more than 100 casinos with different game choices. Several table games and slot machines are available publicly for all residents. It attracts players from outside, and a lot of people visit Canada just for playing different gambling games. Ontario has more casinos than other provinces. While your visit to Ontario make sure you visit its casinos. We believe that you will love a lot of its impressive casinos and excellent online casino software

According to statistics, most of the players prefer slot games while considering gambling games. They especially prefer tv and film-based slot games. Note that jackpot slots are also popular among residents. Competition among game providers makes them develop games with more advanced graphics and sound effects. Eventually, it leads to the creation of impressive games. Because of the French influence in Canada, French Roulette is more popular than the American and Europen ones. In Addition to Roulette, different Poker games including three-card draw, video poker also gained a lot of attention of players. Scratch cards, Bingo, Keno are less popular casino games among players.   

It is illegal to offer online casino software from other countries for Canada residents. However, people in Canada can play online casino games from other countries’ casino websites. Each province has its online casino, and most of them block casinos from outside. More than 1000 casinos are outside of Canada accepting players from Canada. 

Gambling Laws in Ireland

slot games

Another place in which gambling is legal in Ireland.  Since the Gambling Act of 1931, gambling has become licensed within the orders of Ireland. But there is one difference between the countries mentioned above and Ireland. Land-based casinos here is illegal. However, you can be sure that online casinos are legal, and you can play without any restrictions. According to the laws, if you want to gain Irish players, you need to obtain three licenses from the Irish government. There a lot of online casino options for players and players could play their favorite slot games in different online casinos. As in other countries here, slot games are also the most played ones. The second favorite gambling games are poker games. 

As gambling is illegal in Ireland, you cannot find any land-based casinos. However, there are several private clubs where they provide casino games. For joining them, you need to become a member of these clubs. For being a member, you need to offer your ID and in some cases your telephone number and address. On the other hand, it is easy to find a poker club in Ireland. The most popular poker festivals are about the Irish poker clubs. 

As you can see, the gambling laws are confusing in Ireland. It is because of the current requirements during the last ten years. Online gambling initially started in 2001, but it began to gain players in 2003. From 2003 Ireland was attracting licensed and legal betting into their gambling market. Now both local and licensed offshore gambling sites are legitimate for residents. Nowadays gambling industry is evolving in Ireland with the help of online casinos. 


We have looked at some countries where playing slot games are legal. Now let’s look at some the country where gambling is illegal. 

One of these countries is Singapore, where online gambling is illegal. According to the Singapore Gambling Act, the government has banned all kinds of gambling games. However, there are only two exceptions in Singapore. These two businesses have gained the authority to run a gambling business. In 2016 Singapore Turf Club and Singapore Pools have gained independence to open a gambling business. First gambling in Singapore started in 1968 with the opening of Singapore Pools. The government took this action for decreasing the percentage of illegal gambling among people — the other legal gambling business established on March 4, 2000, which was the Singapore Turf Club. 

Today some gambling businesses have gained exemption from the government and are operating successfully. Overall, four cities have gambling facilities in Singapore. The largest city in Singapore based on its gambling facilities in Marina Bay. It has 727 tables, six facilities, slot machines, and poker machines. 


slot games

Gambling is legal in Australia, and it had become legal in 1852. In Australia, both government and local authorities regulate the gambling laws. Australia is one of the countries with the highest rate of gambling. Overall, 70% of adults regularly participate in gambling games. The Economist states “the biggest gamblers” are from Australia. There are both land-based and online casinos. However, starting in 2016, these online casinos have stopped offering real money casino games to their players. 2016 was an essential year for Australia in terms of gambling laws. According to new regulations, Australia residents could not access to the online casino sites which have no license by Australia government. In other words, casinos games that Australia residents have access are no longer available to them. Therefore, local gambling providers are developing for meeting the demand for casino games by people. 

Slots and Poker games are among the most popular gambling games. Especially classic three-reel slot games are favorite of gambling lovers. Another popular casino games are video pokers. 

The first casino in Australia has started to operate in 1973 in Tasmania. Now approximately 60 casinos are working in Australia. Victoria has 18 casinos, which are the most one among others. The second place that has the most casinos in New South Wales with 14 casinos. Because of the demand providers are building new land-based casinos. 


In Sweden, there is a Gambling Authority that regulates gambling businesses. It ensures that all land-based and online casinos, slot machines, bingo halls are legal and has a license. According to the statistics, 85% of people in Sweden play gambling games at least once a year. It is one of the highest percentages among other countries. Svenska Spel started to regulate online gambling in 2019. 

Online slot games are popular among people. They love to play online casino games including Baccarat, Poker games, Blackjack other than slot games. Therefore, the giants of game providers provide their slots to the residents of Sweden as well. It allows Sweden to offer a wide variety of games and different options for its people. Additionally, there are four land-based casinos in Sweden. Svenska Spel operates all the land-based casinos.