ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the rapid development of online gambling into a sophisticated and heterogeneous marketplace of aleatory consumption. As a relatively new industry, states regulatory policies have failed to keep pace with Internet gambling. Europe continues to witness the opening of its gambling markets, as states seek to permit and regulate online gambling. However, they number but a few when compared to those countries that maintain monopolistic systems or those that have introduced highly protectionist regulatory measures. The European Commission also recognises that whilst states have the right to determine, organise and regulate online gambling at a national level, they must equally observe basic EU treaty principles. Online gambling is prohibited throughout a number of non-European countries, including China, Malaysia, Brazil and South Africa. North America, the US maintains that online gambling is illegal, although attacks on this position continue to be made at state and federal levels.
