Gambling is as old as society itself. And with quite a greater meaning than what is included in the world of betting and playing in casinos. However, while it is quite acceptable for generals to take risks in battle, or administrations to endanger people for a better tomorrow, it would seem that the people making the decisions want to deny that chance to the rest of the population. All under the guise of oversight and regulation. In fact, several régimes have introduced recently, new laws on the subject, causing the protests of the best Sportsbook, Exchange and Casino providers for this governments vs gambling persecution.
What does lie behind the confrontation of governments vs gambling
Typically, it’s a good vs evil issue for those in charge. Which means that they effectively regard the industry as something quite bad. Actually, for some it’s a matter of religious beliefs. Supposedly, for others it’s a matter of protecting the people against themselves. The brands of this market consider it as a show of force aiming to exert control and augment the treasury with its revenues. However, looking at things objectively, there are some true problems to consider:
Addiction
Gambling is as addictive as drugs. Inevitably, the risk, the excitement, the adventure, release huge amounts of chemicals like dopamine and endorphins. The body becomes dependent on them and demands for ever increasing quantities. The result is the loss of estate (at best), or even the loss of life. Indeed, there are countless examples of people committing suicide because of the effects of gambling.
Crime
This issue actually works against both the individuals and the gambling establishments. It is a common complaint about the unreliability and untrustworthiness of a number of service providers. Especially, when it comes to those coming from Asia (even though this is a misconception). Of course, like all other addictions, problems resulting from the activity, also lead to incidents of theft, grand larceny, even murder.
Health
Mental health to be precise. It is a matter of fact that when people are associated with more than what is widely accepted as a normal gambling behavior, they are stigmatized socially and isolated. The aforementioned loss of estate also leads to feelings of guilt, loss of self-esteem and, ultimately, in the need for professional assistance.
That’s just the surface. It goes a lot deeper
Here are some other issues to consider and understand why regulatory bodies want to either completely control or even subdue gambling:
The use of cryptocurrencies
It may be the current trend but it offers complete anonymity, and complete lack of tracking. It is a well-established fact that most of the criminal and terrorism activities are closely associated with using digital forms of money to hide. While all sites like game2bet follow the demand of their clientele and allow them to use crypto for betting , for the governments it is both a source for tax evasion and an indication that those using it have something to hide.
Money laundering
This is a wider issue to examine. Let’s just state here that the unfair part towards the houses is that they all adhere strictly to the rules of all anti money-laundering policies and do not allow such activities.
Tax revenues
540 billion dollars. Yes, you read it correctly. This is the amount that resulted from all gambling activities in 2023. And that’s the obvious part. According to the statistics there is an equal amount that is attributed to the industry in hidden practices. That’s well over a trillion. For some countries it is their major source of public income. For others, if they manage to completely control the revenues, it may result to an increase of as much as 15% to their annual GDPs!
The new chapter in the war of governments vs gambling
The Brazilian SPA Secretary, Regis Dudena and the treasury of the country have signed a decree that bans the operation of all betting and casino sites that have not yet applied for a legal license. In their efforts to control the industry, the authorities have proceeded into the above decision. Additionally, one of the friendliest countries towards the market, Australia, tightened up the rules that concern in-game gambling and the casino mini-games.
Realizing the increase of the business of the online casino operators, the UK Gambling Commission and its Chief Executive Sarah Harisson, addressed a letter to all the brands requesting tightening of their practices against money-laundering and announcing the beginning of an investigation against 17 of them.
These are the latest additions to the conflict. It should be noted, that these actions are targeting specifically the online casino operations and not the general betting ones. Hence, those affected have decided to write a response which will address the nations and will try to contradict the criticism.
Game2bet and the governments vs gambling issue
When the contents of the aforementioned letter become public, we, of course, will immediately comment on it. However, at this time, since we are amongst the interested parties as we are one of the few 3-in-1 operations, we can only assure our clients that none of the above are applicable to us. When they decided to open an account at the bookie with the best odds, they also decide to cooperate with a venture that upholds all the best practices of the industry.
