The impact of the EU internet gaming policies on Malta

Abstract

Although internet gambling is a very recent phenomenon, gambling in general has existed for centuries. One can go back as far as the scriptures in the Bible and find references to 'tossing of lots'. There are many references to tossing of lots, among which, the Bible tells us about when the apostles cast lots to determine the replacement for Judas. Whether speaking about board games, bets, card games, lotteries, slot machines or what not, there has always been some form of gambling. In more recent history, we see that in the USA, for example, the path of gambling has taken the form of waves where times would be varied between legal bans and approvals of gambling in different states according to public opinion and wishes. In the 1980's gambling was completely banned, but in the 1920's it was allowed to slowly come back due to public sentiment, until in 1931 it was completely legalized in Nevada. In the 1970's 'Riverboat' and 'Indian Reservation' casinos were opened and this set the flow for further casinos to open their doors in order to lead us to the present day situation where in America gambling is legal in all states except for two. Interesting to note is that gambling has evolved so much that revenue from this industry surpasses that of theme parks, movie tickets, video games, and music recordings all put together.