Regulating Internet gambling: the net tightens on online casinos and bookmakers Available to Purchase

Terrestrial gambling is subject to strict regulations in the modern world, which have been established according to social and economic considerations. Policies are enforced within jurisdictional boundaries, however gambling on the Internet renders these policies meaningless, as there are no borders in cyberspace. As gambling is thought to be an activity that needs regulatory control, the governments in each of the three case study countries USA, Australia and Britain are moving towards establishing a policy for gambling on the Internet. This paper examines the social and economic factors involved in establishing such policies, and then discusses how and why each country has arrived at its current situation in regulating Internet gambling. The factors in enforcing regulation are also discussed, as is the regulation of Internet gambling at the wider European and global levels.