How international gambling law is developing

Introduction: From "local craft" to the global digital industry

Gambling has always been regulated predominantly at the national level. However, digitalization, mobile payments, cryptocurrencies, cross-border advertising and streaming have made the market truly global. As a result, international law in the field of gambling is developing not in the form of a single "global code," but as a set of overlapping norms: trade regimes, anti-laundering standards, consumer and personal data protection regulations, sports integrity, advertising rules and technical certification. Below is a system map of this evolution.

1) Sovereignty, jurisdictions and conflict of laws

Basic principle: each state has the right to determine the admissibility of gambling, types of licenses, taxation and sanctions.

The problem: an online operator can be licensed in one country and serve players in another, where the rules are different.

Key issues of conflict of laws:

Target market vs. location of the operator: do the player's country norms apply to the operator "from abroad"?
Extraterritoriality: a number of regulators directly extend their requirements to "remote" services if targeting their citizens.
Execution: blocking domains and payments, "black lists," requests for mutual assistance, administrative fines, suppression of advertising.

2) International and inter-legal sources

2. 1. Trade and services

The trade in services regime (for example, under multilateral and regional agreements) operates on the principles of non-discrimination and proportionality. At the same time, states retain the right to restrict gambling for the sake of "pressing public interests" (order, health, consumer protection), but restrictions must be justified and consistent.

2. 2. Combating money laundering (AML) and terrorist financing (CFT)

Global standards set a risk-based approach, customer identification (KYC), transaction monitoring, suspicious transaction reporting, verification of sources of funds, and sanction compliance filters.

For gambling, this means: mandatory KYC/EDD procedures, payment limits and verification, periodic risk assessments and staff training.

2. 3. Data protection and cross-border flows

Privacy and data governance rules form a "rigid" framework for analytics, behavioral profiles, protection of vulnerable groups, storage and cross-border data transfer.

Operators build privacy-by-design, pseudonymization, DPIA and contractual mechanisms for transferring data to providers and affiliates.

2. 4. Sports integrity (sports integration)

Sports betting requires an international exchange of information on suspicious patterns, prevention of match fixing, cooperation between bookmakers, leagues, law enforcement officers and regulators.

In focus: early warning, data sharing centers, bans on betting to "internal persons," codes of conduct for athletes and referees.

3) Regional models and jurisprudence

3. 1. European space

Coordination without unification: gambling is not harmonized at the level of a single code, but they are subject to the general principles of freedom of movement of services, proportionality of restrictions, consumer protection and privacy.

Court decisions played a key role: they secured that states have the right to restrict the market for the sake of public interests, but bans and exclusives must be logically consistent (you cannot hide behind "protection" while aggressively promoting your state-monopoly product).

Practical effects:

Growth of remote licensing regimes;
Responsible play and age/personality verification requirements;
RNG/RTP technical certification, provider audits, approved provider lists (B2B).

3. 2. UK (as a benchmark for risk-based approach)

"Remote gambling" model: licenses for the provision of remote services to British players, regardless of the operator's geography.

Strong blocks: RG tools, checking the availability of the game (affordability), bans on certain advertising practices, hard AML and interaction with payment systems.

3. 3. USA (federalism and "mosaic")

After deregulation shifts, a number of gambling types (especially sports betting) are legalized at the state level, forming a federal-state matrix.

The practice includes interstate pools in poker, geofencing, clear advertising rules and KYC, significant requirements for affiliate programs (affiliates).

3. 4. Other regions

Latin America: rapid transition to licensing regimes, development of tax and advertising restrictions, local payments, consumer protection.

Africa: Combination of State Monopolies and Liberal Regimes, Focus on RG and AML, Adaptation to Mobile Wallets.

Asia-Pacific: coexistence of strict prohibitions and narrow tolerances; interest in regulated B2B models (content providers, hosting, certification) is growing.

4) Cross-border enforcement tools

Domain blocking and DNS delegation, payment restrictions (card/ACH/issuers, local wallets), joint "black lists" and warnings to consumers.

MLA/MLAT requests, exchange of information about beneficiaries, sanctions lists, joint investigations under the "operator - affiliate - provider - payment gateway" scheme.

Cooperation with platforms and media to limit targeting and creatives that do not comply with local law (display time, audience 18 +, "responsible" messages, ban on the glorification of winnings, etc.).

5) Responsible play and consumer protection as "soft" international law

Although there is no strict unification, there is a convergence of standards:

Mandatory RG tools: self-exclusion, deposit/bet/loss limits, "time-outs," reality checks, restriction of quick re-deposit.
Age verification, visible risk information, availability of help/chats and hotlines.
Data-driven monitoring of signs of a problem game (deposit patterns at night, "dogon," escalation of amounts, cancellation of conclusions, etc.) with ethical framework and data protection.

6) Advertising and affiliates: general trends

Tightening content and targeting (bans on the use of images of youth, idol athletes for minors, "quick loans," promises of "easy money").

Transparent disclaimers, 18 + indication, RG messages, ban on misleading mechanics "almost winning."

Responsibility of affiliates: contractual and regulatory mechanisms, requirement of local compatibility of creatives, KPI control, "affiliate registers."

7) Technical standards and certification

The international market relies on independent testing (RNG, RTP, mathematics, security), penetration tests, control of game version changes, platform certification, audit of logging and reporting.

Trend - mutual recognition of test results between jurisdictions in order to accelerate content output and reduce transaction costs, while maintaining local "add-on" requirements (RG widgets, language, currency, limits).

8) Cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and fintech novels

Regulators are shifting from "absolute prohibition" to regulated integration: licensing of crypto operators, KYC/AML chains with wallet providers, travel rule, on-/off-ramp monitoring.

Stablecoins and CBDCs: pilots of compliance with reporting and return requirements, programmable limits, automation of RG restrictions in smart contracts.

New risks: mixers, "privacy-coins," cross-chain-swaps; the answer is blockchain analytics, risk-scoring of addresses, "listings" of permitted assets, limits on anonymous deposits.

9) Sports, esports and loot boxes

E-sports bets fall under the same regulatory principles, but require specific measures against match fix and skin betting, juvenile protection and streaming advertising.

Loot boxes: treats some jurisdictions as a gambling product (if there is retribution, chance and value), others as mechanics of consumer-protected games. Regulatory differentiation is outlined: disclosure of chances, age restrictions, prohibition of monetization for children.

10) Taxes and BEPS logic

Moving towards tax certainty: determining the tax base (GGR, NGR), withholding at the source, geolocation of revenue.

Embedding in the international agenda against the erosion of the tax base (BEPS 2. 0), reporting by countries of presence (CbCR), beneficial transparency, compliance with transfers within groups (provider - operator - affiliate).

11) How states are fighting illegal operators

Multi-level barriers: domain registration, DNS and IP blocking, ban of payment routes, suppression of advertising/influencers, responsibility of affiliates and the media.

A positive alternative: affordable "white" licenses, a competitive tax rate, simplified B2B certification procedures, sandboxes for innovation and frameworks for crypto payments.

Cooperation: data exchange between regulators, memoranda with payment and IT platforms, joint raids against especially harmful schemes (phishing, brand cloning, washing funnels).

12) What operators and providers do to match "many worlds" at once

Legal cartography: register of claims by country (licenses, RG, advertising, taxes, payments, crypto rules).

Software modularity: "switches" of local restrictions (limits, RG widgets, localization), centralization of logging and reporting.

Provider compliance: a chain of B2B certifications, control of subcontractors (hosting, anti-fraud, PSP), DPIA and SOW with clear SLA/OLA.

Hybrid payment stacks: white-/blacklist providers, multi-level routing, real-time monitoring of failures and chargeback risks.

Governance: risk committees, independent auditors, staff training, test plans and "table-top exercises."

13) Horizons to 2030: what to expect

1. More extraterritoriality: "targeting" the audience will be more important than the physical location of the server.

2. Unified AML/CFT risk dictionaries for gambling with blockchain analytics and travel rule by default.

3. Digital ID and "transparent KYC" (register of trusted attributes), reducing friction while enhancing RG.

4. Algorithmic supervision: regtech/AI for inspectors and supervisors (anti-fraud, ludomania patterns, advertising violations), coupled with audit of algorithms and ethical frameworks.

5. Mutual recognition of tests and "passport" certification of games, while maintaining local add-ons.

6. Crypto compliance 2. 0: whitelisting assets, anonymous path limits, "programmable" RG restrictions in payments.

7. Advertising under the microscope: age-gating, content rules, banning "harmful incentives," expanding the responsibility of affiliates and influencers.

8. Sports integration alliances: global data exchange centers, standard contracts and insider betting bans.

International law in gambling is a mosaic that consists of national laws, jurisprudence, AML/KYC standards, data protection, sports integrity, tax rules and technical certification. The trend towards convergence of standards while maintaining sovereign features is already obvious. Win those jurisdictions and companies that:

transparently manage risks and data, build modular compliance for different markets, invest in RG and sports integration, prepare a "crypto-compatible" payment and audit architecture, and move from "minimal compliance" to a proactive culture of responsibility.

It is this strategy that will make it possible to work sustainably in a global field where law is developing faster than ever before.