Legal Betting Online 2025

Learn About All Types Of Wagering

Betting online is a truly immersive experience thanks to the benefit of large technological advances and investments made within the industry. Fans of sports betting can make “live in game” wagers on nearly any type of situation imaginable, and fans of casino games can play against live dealers.  Now moving into 2025, mobile apps are taking over the space and making the experience more accessible and convenient than ever before.

Advantages to playing online vs land-based casinos include ease of use and available stakes. New players will enjoy minimum stakes far lower on the internet – and players who enjoy high limit betting will still find valuable rewards or “comps” in the forms of loyalty and VIP programs.

The legal landscape of online betting is undergoing changes as more and more countries embrace taxing and regulating gaming in order to benefit from the tax revenue produced by it.  The industry is growing at a rapid rate regardless of less than stellar economic conditions in global financial markets.

Online sports betting is the most popular type of wagering covered in our guide, followed closely by games like poker, slots, and blackjack. We have developed extensive sections on each type including rules, how-to guides, and tips for finding the best online casinos and gambling sites for real money players.

Real Money Is Our Focus

Anyone interested in playing for real money should consider several factors when choosing which betting sites listed on our pages to signup at.  An important aspect many players don’t consider is depositing money into their accounts.  It can be easy or a real hassle depending on where you live, and which method you use to fund your account.  Considering whether to take advantage of bonuses should also be evaluated on a case by case basis – believe it or not, all are worth taking.

Banking And Payment Processing Is Important

Payments methods often change, and of course, funds can be transferred to player accounts in 2023 in many different forms.  Using a bank account or echeck/echeque, depositing with credit/debit cards, or more modern options like e-wallets and prepaid vouchers services and other third party cash transfer services.  Check out our guide depositing guide to learn about the various options that are available to you depending on where you live and where you want to play at.

World Wide And Region Specific Information

Is online gambling legal?  
Remember, laws about betting online and which sites players are allowed to signup at can be very different depending on where in the world you live – we do our best to keep up with regulations and licensing but please don’t consider anything you read on this site as legal advice.  Consult your local government for current laws.  A large part of our guide will come from helping players narrow down choices on where to bet by listing different sites for most regions in the world.

We feel each country warrants its own section.  These pages are nearly impossible to keep updated as fast as things in the industry seem to be changing.  Countries currently covered are listed below, an extensive update to these pages is slated for later this year.

• USA – Read our in-depth US online betting guides for state-by-state information on the developing legal betting industry in the United States.
• UK – Punters in the United Kingdom continue to enjoy the shining example of the regulated online gambling industry.  The rest of the world would do well to follow the example set by the UK over a decade ago.
• Canada – The first province that is now live with online betting offering both sports betting and casino in Ontario. We think Canada will develop a legal online betting market in the very near future.  Most likely already in 2022.
• Australia – is a confusing market.  What’s legal vs banned here doesn’t seem to make sense.  We hope to continue to educate ourselves in this fast-changing region.
• Turkey – offers both local and international options for online betting. The nation has a massive interest in sports especially the local football league and as well the top leagues in Europe. Other sports that are popular for betting online in Turkey are basketball, esports, and American Football. Debit cards and e-wallets are the most common deposit method and there are plenty of betting sites that offer these including in Turkish lire
• Israel – Betting from out Israel with shekel or in Hebrew does not leave many options. However, if you are open to betting on sports or playing online there are plenty of good and safe options. Our online betting guide Israel will share more insights.
• India – Online betting has really become very popular in India over the last few years. Hence, a new betting market for both sports betting and online casino, there are really only a few trusted well-known betting sites that accept players from India.
• Sweden – Sweden has always been one of the most popular betting markets for sports, casinos, bingo, and poker. The market became locally regulated in 2019 and as you can imagine a very competitive betting market with a lot of bookmakers and casinos available, which is great for the players to have plenty of selection to pick from.
• Russia – playing online casinos, online poker, or online betting on sports from Russia has large over the past 10 years and been very accessible via some of the largest brands on the betting scene. Today you can find a good selection of safe sites that offers all local Russian payment methods and the most popular games.
• France – online betting has been legal in France since 2010 and is regulated by Autorité Nationale des Jeux. The most popular betting sites in France are Unibet and Bwin, and the most popular payment methods are debit cards, bank transfers,s and e-wallets (Skrill, Neteller, Paypal).
• Spain – online gambling in Spain has been regulated since 2011 by the Spanish Gambling Act. The market today offers numerous of sports betting- and casino options for customers to bet safely on. To bet in Spain you will need to be 18+ also worth mentioning all winnings below €2500 are tax-free and any winnings above will be taxed at 20%.
• Italy – was one of the first countries in Europe to regulate betting online in Europe. The market became regulated in 2006 and offers all products sports betting, casino, poker, and bingo. Some of the most popular sports to bet on in Italy are football, volleyball, and basketball. Horse racing is also a big popular sport.
• Germany – is one of the largest online betting markets in Europe and estimated that over €10m+ is spent on online sports betting in 2022. The most popular sports to bet on for germans are football followed by American sports such as NBA, NHL, and NFL. Horse racing and tennis are also two other popular betting sports in Germany.
• Hungary – has very high popularity for online betting, especially sports betting whereas football is the number one sport that Hungarians are betting on. Online betting is legal in Hungary and players are able to enjoy all gambling products such as online casinos, sports betting, poker, bingo, lotto, and much more with numerous trusted options to bet on.
• China – has no local regulatory framework for online gambling, yet online betting and gambling in casinos online is still very popular in China. There are today numerous online betting sites that are offering online casino and sports betting both in Chinese and in local currency, offering numerous deposit- and withdrawal methods for safe gambling.
• South Africa – has a long industry of online betting with a tremendous interest in sports. The main sports in South Africa are soccer and cricket. Today there are numerous trusted online betting sites with wide offering and most popular payment methods for the region.
• Thailand – does not have a licensing system for online gambling, however, there are still plenty of betting options available for both sports betting, online casinos, and online poker all accepting Thai Baht. The most popular sports in Thailand are football to bet on as well eSports has grown in big popularity in the country.
• New Zealand – betting online either sports betting or online casino, has since many years become a integrated form of entertainment for thew New Zealanders, or Kiwis, with numerous safe betting sites to bet with. Some of the most popular sports to bet on in New Zealand are Cricket, Rugby, MMA, Horse Racing, and as most other countries Football.