Gambling Legislation in Asia
🌐 Language |
Depends on the country |
🎯 Popular Games |
Slots, roulette, poker, blackjack, baccarat |
💶 Currency |
Depends on the country |
⚖️ Is Gambling Legal in Europe? |
Land-based gambling is legal in Macau & Hong Kong; partly legal in India |
🧾 Gaming Regulator |
The MSAR (Macau), the Gambling Ordinance (Hong Kong) |
📈 Gambling tax |
40% of GGR in Macau, 72% in Hong Kong, 28% in India |
Is online gambling legal in Asia?
To understand the legal picture of online gambling across different Asian countries, we have to take a look at each one of them separately. But before that, it’s noteworthy that in the major part of the Asian region, both land-based and online gambling activities are illegal and punishable by law.
China
China hardly adds any bright colours to this picture. Even though the country has a long history of engaging in various table games, all gambling activities there are considered illegal except the Sports Lottery and the Welfare Lottery. Despite this, Chinese players still find ways to gamble by travelling to neighbouring or faraway countries and using offshore online platforms.
Macau & Hong Kong
Widely known as the Las Vegas of Asia, Macau is one of the legendary destinations when it comes to gambling. Even though Macau is home to more than 40 brick-and-mortar casinos, online gambling on its territory has been prohibited since 2015. However, there are several offshore venues that offer their services in Macau by the MSAR. You can find them in our review of the best online casinos in Macau.
The same stands true for Hong Kong, where online casinos remain forbidden. Land-based gambling is legal, although heavily regulated and controlled. The existing forms of sports betting, for example, belong to the Hong Kong Jockey Club, while casino games can be found only on a selected number of cruise ships.
India
Online casinos in India are legal and regulated in specific states of the country, such as Goa and Sikkim, where land-based casinos are of immense popularity as well. At the same time, offshore online venues can freely offer their services to gamblers all across India. Most of them are licensed by such prominent jurisdictions as Curacao, Malta, Gibraltar, and the UK.
Indonesia
Indonesia is one of the few Asian countries where all forms of gambling are strictly prohibited both for residents and tourists The main reason for this is that Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim country, so it’s very difficult to navigate around the local gambling laws. It’s theoretically possible to access an offshore online casino from Indonesia, but you have to be very careful with that.
Japan
Online casinos in Japan are mostly foreign venues that offer their services in the country since the local legislation forbade all forms of gambling back in 1907. As for now, it’s still not clear whether gambling will be legalised in Japan in the foreseeable future.
Mongolia
In Mongolia, all forms of gambling except state-approved lotteries are considered illegal. Online casinos in Mongolia from our review are offshore casino platforms that accept Mongolian players. As of 2023, there are no registered cases of individual players being punished by law for gambling on offshore casino websites.
South Korea
Online casinos in South Korea only accept foreign players and tourists. For Korean citizens, however, all gambling activities are prohibited both inside and outside the country.
Thailand
Since Thailand is mostly a Buddhist country, gambling is considered prohibited all over its territory. The main piece of legislation, the Gambling Act, was passed back in 1935. While there are no obvious changes to this law coming up in the foreseeable future, it is possible to find an offshore slot server in Thailand to try your luck at online gambling if you’re a tourist.
Gambling taxation
Speaking of gambling taxation, it is only imposed in those Asian countries where gambling is fully or partially legalised. Thus, in Macau, the annual tax is set at 40% on the gross gambling revenue of licensed and regulated gambling facilities. In Hong Kong, this tax is set at 72% on gambling facilities with a HKJC license. Finally, in India, the tax on land-based and online casinos’ GGR is around 28%.