Online gambling is any type of gambling conducted online. This includes casinos, online poker and virtual poker. The first online gambling destination opened to the public, was ticket selling for the famous Liechtenstein International Poker Tournament in October 1994. Since then there have been numerous sites that have offered various types of gambling online including sports gaming, racing, bingo, blackjack and many more.
Regardless of whether online gambling venues are operated for profit or for non-profit purposes, it is important that they are governed according to legal requirements. Gambling is strictly prohibited in many countries as well as in the United States. This means that you cannot operate a business that accepts bets from people in those countries. In the US online gambling is not regulated as against real money gambling; therefore if you conduct transactions through the internet that involve you depositing funds into your personal account then you need to be careful about the laws and the consequences that may apply to you. In the UK, all companies that offer payment or money transfers in the form of credit cards or debit cards need to register and be regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
Because all transactions are subject to regulation it is important to understand how online gambling sites operate. All websites that accept deposits, online payments and online money transfers must have a regulated method for withdrawing the funds once the transaction has finished. Any website that does not follow this recommendation is at risk of being shut down. Therefore, you need to make sure that all sites that you do business with follow the regulations set by the government as regards online gambling and that the company that you are dealing with is a member of the Professional and Responsible Gambling Commission (PRGCC).