Great philosophers of the past came up with many wise sayings and as such, it helped to describe particular individuals, relationships and situations. One such saying crafted by the great Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, reads ‘the only thing that is constant is change’. This aptly describes the online gambling industry in most countries across the globe as the environment is constantly changing from time to time. This means that in order to gamble online legally, you have to be aware of the various factors that influence change in the online gambling industry. 

Let's take a look at some of these below.

It's All About Legislation 

One of the most important factors that determines the legality and politics of online gambling is legislation. To gauge if it’s possible to gamble online legally at any genuine online gambling site such as an NJ online casino or NJ online poker site for US players, you need to be aware of the legislative frameworks that relate to online gambling in your jurisdiction. The unfortunate (or fortunate) part of these legislative frameworks is that they are neither static nor fixed, but are rather subject to change. 

While gambling legislation differs from time to time, it also changes from region to region and from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Therefore, it means that you do not only have to worry about the legislative frameworks in your locale, but you also need to be concerned about the online gambling legislative frameworks in the jurisdiction where the casino you intend to play at is located or where the casino’s servers are located. 

Let’s put this into perspective and see how this works in practice. 

Currently, for players across the world with the exception of the USA (and a few other countries), online gambling involves placing bets or wagers on casino and sports games online using money with the intention of winning more money. In general, these two forms of online gambling are recognised and regulated by most countries which mean that players can gamble online legally whether playing casino games online for profit or wagering on different sporting disciplines. 

However, in the US (and a few other regions), online gambling only entails playing casino games and excludes sports betting. What this means is that any player looking to partake in betting on sports online, will be deemed as acting out of the confines of the law and thus gambling illegally. However, with new Paspa law being reviewed in the US under Trump's administration, we may see a few changes happen in the near future with regards to sports betting. 

Where are you Located?  

Closely related to legislation is the location factor. What location means in the sense of legally gambling online is that it may come in different forms and can be applied differently in various jurisdictions. 

The first and perhaps most common area where location is concerned is the question of where the player is playing from. Some territories prohibit all forms of online gambling such as North Korea and the Vatican. This means due to location restrictions, you cannot gamble online legally irrespective of other factors. 

Further to this, some countries may have grey areas such as the US and South Africa. These regions have a robust and fixed legislative framework when it comes to gambling at brick-and-mortar casinos, but due to the ever-changing nature of the online gambling industry, their online gambling legislative frameworks have grey areas which are open to different interpretations. To some, online gambling is permitted while to some, online gambling is not permitted. If you find yourself in a country that's marked as a grey area, it's still possible to gamble online, however only at an online gambling operator that's based in a legal jurisdiction. 

Offshore casino sites are open to almost all players including those in the US where online gambling is heavily regulated. If your country does not permit or prohibits online gambling, you can check if your country is not blacklisted or on the ‘restricted territories list’ at the casino you are looking to play at. 

These factors will determine whether you can legally gamble online, so it's vital that you check the changes in gambling laws and legislature and also assess if your country supports the idea.