Regulated and soon-to-be-regulated betting markets — The new phenomenon of unregulated betting is increasing in popularity

Gambling has been a popular pastime for thousands of years. While the first slot machine, called Liberty Bell, was introduced in 1894, gambling in and of itself dates back much further than this. Allegedly, even the construction of the Great Wall of China was financed with gambling proceeds several thousand years ago.

Nowadays, a lot of the so-called igaming world has gone online. At this point, there are already hundreds of online casino companies offering high-quality gambling experiences on the internet. In this article, we take a look at some of the logistics of this popular phenomenon and how exactly online casino regulation works.

Every country has to make a decision

There are several political decisions every country needs to make. For instance, every government needs to have a stance on things like alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and other legal and illegal substances. The same goes for just about everything else as well, and gambling is no exception.

In some countries of the world, gambling is completely prohibited. This is mostly true in countries with strict religious views and laws. In other countries, gambling is somehow regulated, meaning that there are boundaries as to what gaming companies can legally do.

In Nordic countries such as Finland and Sweden, foreign online gambling companies have historically been forbidden from entering the market. Not too long ago, both of these countries had state-run monopolies on gambling. This all changed in 2019 when Sweden opened up its market to competition under its very own Swedish license. In Finland, on the other hand, things are set to go in the same direction at the start of 2027.

Regulation also gives room for unregulated gambling

Letting go of complete control and welcoming new companies to the market can be scary for world governments. This is mostly because it requires politicians to come up with a new regulated system that sets the parameters for what will be legal in terms of responsible gambling, marketing, and more.

In some cases, setting up a new system doesn’t go without a hitch. One example of this is the aforementioned new Swedish gambling system. According to many experts, the Swedish system is too limiting when it comes to things like casino and sports betting bonuses. The companies entering the Swedish market can only offer each of their players one welcome bonus and nothing else. Because of this, and the popularity and importance of such bonuses, some players and companies are turning to unregulated gambling and opting to operate outside of the system.

In Finland, too, politicians are working hard not to make the same mistakes the Swedes made. Casinos and sportsbooks listed on the website Zimplerkasinot are currently very popular. If the new Finnish regulations do not turn out to be good enough, gambling companies and sites such as the ones listed there might not want to enter the Finnish market.

Coming up with a good system is a delicate balance

From the players’ perspective, regulated markets may appear appealing because of potential strict regulation and safeguards in place. Gambling being safe is not inherently a thing that any player would object to. The problem arises more from the fact that sometimes the rules might be a little too constricting.

If a country ends up taking a stance that is too authoritative, it is only natural that some players will end up rebelling. On the same token, if the rules are too relaxed, people may end up blaming the government for not doing enough to fight things like problem gambling. After all, in countries such as Sweden and especially Finland, problem gambling is a widespread issue.

In the end, lawmakers are in a difficult position. Whatever they do, they will create a situation where there will be new problems. Essentially, choosing a way to regulate the gambling market is more about choosing your cross to bear than it is finding a way to appease everyone. As is often the case with politics, trying to be a perfectionist does not exactly pay off.