Casinos by Countries Guide

Welcome to BestBonuses.co.uk, your top online gambling guide for internet casinos. In below article you will find all useful information about online casinos and bonuses around the world.

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Online Casinos are worldwide phenomenon!

Playing at online casino is a great pleasure for players in most parts of the world. It’s really only few regions on the globe that gambling at casino is not allowed. For example, in many Islamic states playing with real money is illegal. Most countries in the world that allow casino activities have a minimum age requirement, thus to gamble one must at least 16 years old. In most countries, the minimum age limit is between 16 and 21.

What does casino means?

Many of you have heard about casinos before and basically know what that means and what kind of games you can play. On the other hand, did you know from where the word casino comes from? “Casino” has an Italian origin, where root “casa” means house and “casino” originally meant a small villa in the country, summer house or social club. It was only during the 20th century that the term casino has been used to name public buildings where gambling activities were having place. Such buildings were mostly built on fields adjacent to major Italian mansions or palaces and were used to hold different events for the citizens, including dance, games, music and sports. Nowadays, word “casino” means brothel in Italian, and if you want to refer to its original meaning, it is written with an accent on the o, “casinò”.

Casino is undoubtedly a worldwide phenomenon! And it has proved to be a very lucrative activity for those who work with the gaming industry. USA is leading in the gaming market. On the other hand, when it comes to the best individual gaming markets, Macau is first, while Las Vegas is on the second place and Singapore on third.  In this article, we explain how casinos work in different parts of the world. In addition, you get some bonus information about the status of online casino in all regions.

Casinos in Europe

Europe is the continent where most casino games have been launched. We can thank French and Italians for playing games like roulette, blackjack, baccarat, bingo and lotto. Tradition and the more relaxed perspective of gambling also comes from those countries. Most of land based and online casinos located on the European continent.

Land based casinos are almost in all countries in Europe. Regarding the number of casinos in each country and how the industry is regulated (for example, UK market is regulated by the government), it can vary significantly in each region.

The main “casino nations” in Europe are France , Great Britain, Scandinavia and Germany. Other major casinos are Spain, Holland and Portugal.  In France there are about 190 casinos. Vert Casino in Lyon and Barriere d’Enghien-les-Bains in Paris are the two largest and most famous casinos in France. Although there are well-known casinos in many places, perhaps Monte Carlo has become famous due to gaming.

In Britain, there are also around 190 land based casinos in total and few more have been announced to launch in the coming years. It has simply become a prestige for many cities to offer that kind of activities. The casino group called Genting owns quite a bit of land-based casinos on the British Isles.

Casinos in the United States

There are casinos in almost every state in the United States and the number of casinos (including casino hotels and restaurants with casino games) is high as 1700. State of Nevada, with casino cities like Las Vegas and Reno are the center of casinos in the United States. Especially Las Vegas is one of the most famous gaming centers in the world. In Las Vegas, there are also some of the world’s largest and most famous casino hotels, such as Bellagio, Luxor, Mirage, MGM Grand and The Venetian. Another center for casinos in the USA is Atlantic City in the state of New Jersey. A larger number of casinos can be also found in the states of Oklahoma, Washington, Florida and California.

Casinos in Asia

In Asia, former Portuguese colony called Macau focused on gambling. There are probably more gaming tables and slot machines in Macau than in all other cities of Asia. Macau is a very small place (measuring only 30 square kilometers) that belongs to China, but about 50 casinos are in the middle of a big battle for customers. About two thirds of casinos is located in historic center of Macau, while the remaining third is located on the beach strip in the Cotai district.

Philippines is another casino destination in Asia. In fact, there is far more than 60 medium size to large casinos. Most of them is located in City of Dreams Manila, which is a real giant with over 500 game tables. City of Dreams Manila is a sister casino to the City of Dreams in Macau. It is the second biggest casino complex built on the Manila Strip after Solaire Resort & Casino (2017) and both are worth several billion dollars.

Casinos in Australia

Australia has a relatively small number of casinos and casino hotels comparing to Europe, Asia and USA. We counted around 20 in total. There is at least one casino in each state, but it is the state of New South Wales which is number one with its four major casinos. However, the largest casino in Australia, is located in the state of Victoria – it is called Crown Casino and Entertainment in Melbourne.

Casinos in Africa

There are around 200 casinos across Africa. South Africa was the first ever country in Africa where casinos were launched. in SA there are far more than half of all casinos on this continent. In total there are 30 cities with land-based casinos and the number of casinos amounts to 50. Johannesburg and Cape Town are the destinations for players looking for a luxury casino experiences.

Casino on Cruise Ship

Cruise ships that leave territorial waters and go to international waters can offer casino games and other real money games. The same rules apply to ships that at least stop at a territory where gambling is allowed (ie. ferries across the Baltic Sea). There is no cruise ship that does not offer casino games in any form, and in those countries where casino is prohibited, it may occasionally occur a lot of casino tourism with special casino cruises.

While the cruise ships offering games are very popular all over the world, one can find the best cruises in the United States and the UK. The cruise industry itself is large and profitable business, valued at over $15.3 billion a year. Many people choose cruises not only for casinos but also because they think it’s a better and more comfortable alternative to having flight.

Cruise ships with casinos are most popular in the United States and Britain, however now, their popularity has spread worldwide. Some of the most popular casino cruises include cruises on the Panama Canal, in the Caribbean, Hawaii and European cruises such as the British, Norwegian and Russian ships. Columbian, Alaskan and Mississippi river cruises are also very popular. In addition to these, Asia’s casino cruises have also been highly sought after lately.

Casinos online around the world

In most countries around the world, governments are keen to regulate casino activities. At the same time there is always a thought of getting some extra tax money. In countries with a clearly regulated gaming market, there is usually a state-owned gaming company that has a monopoly on gaming on both land-based casinos and online, and players simply have no choice.

At the same time, the internet is completely open, thus you can play at any online casino site you want, regardless where you live and where the casino operator is registered.

In the United States, for example, online gambling is illegal apart of 3 states. A casino-interested American may be keen to play at land-based casinos. In Germany, it is illegal to play foreign casinos on the internet, if the casinos are not licensed in Germany.

In addition to the slightly odd example of Germany, online casino market in Europe is mostly open and it is free to play wherever you want. However, it is important to keep an eye on the tax rules. For casinos licensed in Malta, Cyprus and Gibraltar, all profits are tax-free, as these countries are members of the EU. For casinos licensed outside European Union (Alderney, Curacao and Costa Rica to take some common examples), EU citizens must pay taxes on their winnings.