A casino is a facility created for entertainment within the gambling industry. They are often constructed near to or including a type of accommodation like a hotel or a resort with various retail shopping, restaurants and an array of other tourist attractions. Some casinos do also host live entertainment, such as concerts, stand-up comedy, and sports events.
There are no written records that can state for a fact when the idea came about, but the general belief is that every society has some form or another of it and the Romans and Ancient Greeks made it prevalent amongst society.
Back then they were referred to as ‘gambling houses’, that people would visit and gamble to their hearts content in a controlled environment. However, the government, in England, where the idea originated, closed every last one down down in the 70s. But a similar idea sprang back up again in the 90s.
In America, these gambling houses were known as ‘Saloons’ that were rooted in four main cities i.e. Chicago, San Francisco, New Orleans, and St. Louis. And in Europe it originated in Italy, Venice and was named the ‘Ridotto’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridotto
Nowadays the Casinos are ten times the size of these small facilities in the ancient times and twice as more popular, with an endless choice of gambling options from cards to roulette to slot machines of all shapes and sizes.
Even the design of the Casinos has been created to encourage gambling and play on the senses. The lights, sounds, and lavish furniture, the free drinks for players and the colorful displays are all there as a lucrative measure to draw in all your senses and get you to stay there and play some more. At the end of the day a Casino is a money-making business, so if they don’t try to keep their customers indoors, then they have failed in doing their duty.
According to some statistics, the country with the most Casinos is France with almost 190. Las Vegas coming second on the list with only 122 in comparison and the United Kingdom with 141 beating the USA region.
Does Having A Casino Mean You Need A License for It?
To operate any business requires a license. But the type of license you need will depend on the services you provide.
For example, in the United Kingdom, the four different types of licenses generally validated from the Gambling Commission are:
- an operating license
- a personal functional license
- a personal management licenses
- a premises license (from your local licensing authority)
However in a country like Sweden, there are options of online non-licensed casinos, Casino utan SPELPAUS, that have similar services as a normal casino but are licensed off-shore in places like in Curacao instead of UK or Sweden. These sites give one anonymity of playing online, referred to as iGaming gambling.
Some players prefer this type of gambling to the typical casinos because of a few reasons like:
1. No Payment Limits and No Restrictions – Unlike sternly regulated sites where banking limits are quite low, non-Swedish casinos don’t have these confines. As a matter of fact, most gambling websites without deposit limits are based offshore. The benefit being that you get to deposit as much cash as you want to and play for as long as you want.
2. Anonymity – as mentioned above, when you play at a casino you have to produce some form of identification, but in these types of unregulated websites, they don’t need it, they allow you to remain anonymous.
3. No Self-Exclusion Tool – also known as SpelPaus. Can be a useful tool to some players if need be. However, once you self-exclude yourself, registering back in can be problematic on some sites. Thus, on an online casino this would not be an issue for the players because they do not have this option of SpelPaus. Want to know more?
4. Maltese License – If a casino is based in a foreign country, the likelihood of holding a Curacao eGaming license is high. These are approved by the reputable body of the MGA, and over the years, the MGA casino sites have flourished into building themselves and their bonuses.
5. More Bonuses & Promotions – Players don’t necessarily pay taxes on their winning when playing on off-shore gambling websites, like they would on the licensed ones and so they get a much better deal in the form of bonuses and extra free spins or the massive deposits that are allowed.
Point to note – Playing on an unlicensed website is not necessarily safe and it is always good advice to check the site’s certification and reputation. Moreover, iGaming websites that collaborate with other well-known and established game providers are a lot safer.
There are several good sites that do not have a Swedish license, but which have a license in the EEA. They do not target Swedish players either. For example:
- Spinia
- Betamo Casino
- Bob Casino
- Betchan Casino
What Type of Tax Is Placed on Winnings?
There are three types of categories under this topic:
Type 1: You are taxed on winnings if you play at a casino that has a license in Malta and is by large for Swedish Players.
Type 2: Same thing here, if you play at a casino that has been licensed in Cyprus
Type 3: Tax-Free profits are only allowed in EEA licensed casinos.
Are My Casino Winnings Taxed in the UK?
Whether you are a big gambler who wins thousands of pounds every week or a smaller gambler, in the UK you keep what you win. There is no tax on winnings at a Casino. Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, and England also fall under this category of not taxing what you win at the casino, you get to take it home. The main reason for this is HM Revenue and Customs already claim a substantial share by charging the gambling operators a duty levy.
Even UK online gaming sites, have their licenses offshore so as not to get taxed. There is no difference between a professional gambler and an amateur one, if you win millions of pounds every year you are not taxed on it.