Scotland, as you may know, makes up a part of the United Kingdom, being the northernmost country of them. It shares its border with England to the south and contains a total of over 790 islands alongside the mainland. Being a part of the UK, Scotland’s laws and gambling possibilities are governed under the same regulations as all other countries from the United Kingdom. The Gambling Commission provides licensing, regulations and more for Scotland, in this respect. However, it also has its own land-based casinos that exist within the Scottish borders and various online casinos also operate from within the country too.
Best Scottish online casinos 2018
How to gamble online from Scotland
Yes, it’s very much a possibility. Again, because Scotland makes up a part of the United Kingdom and the UK is quite liberal with its gambling laws for citizens, gamers can freely access online casinos, sports betting, poker rooms and more without any issues. The Gambling Act of 2005 applies to England, Wales and Scotland, and is in place to be able to regulate and control all forms of gambling within the three countries. Gambling has been popular throughout the United Kingdom for many centuries now, with sports betting, bingo and other offerings having their own markets. With this being the case, residents of Scotland have had the ability to access their favourite gaming sites for long periods of time already.
Further to the standard ability to play gambling games online, players from Scotland can also access offshore platforms too. Even though a large portion of online sites cater to Scottish players by way of a UK gambling licence, others are also accessible to such residents as alternatives. Alas, there’s little to tempt Scottish players as far as external platforms go, when there are multiple land-based and online casinos, sportsbooks and more that enable such Igamers to play at licensed and local establishments. In fact, Scotland is home to some of the UK’s most notable casinos and poker rooms, both offline and online. Therefore, it works as quite the appealing country for gamers to reside in, thanks to its liberal gambling laws and various appealing establishments.
Online casino games in 2018
As a regulated gambling country the UK has many of the biggest software operators in the world operating on its shores, with these titans like Microgaming, Playtech and Net Entertainment having 100s of real money casino games available. To find out more about the games that are available check out our guides:
Depositing Sterling at GBP casinos
Generally speaking, the British Pound is one of the currencies that many online casinos accept. And if you’re accessing a platform from within Scotland as a gamer, then the likelihood is that it accepts the Pound as a depositing and playing currency. In actuality, most external casino sites also accept it as such, so it’s not difficult to locate a gaming site that operates with such a currency option. With this being the case, you’ll also find that there are multiple different depositing methods open to you to use as well. In this case, transferring money to your casino account shouldn’t pose any kind of problem as a Scottish player. These payment methods that can be utilised include such options as:
- Credit and Debit Cards: Visa, MasterCard, Maestro
- eWallets: Neteller, Skrill, PayPal
- Prepaid Cards: PaysafeCard, Entropay, Neosurf
- Bank Transfer: Bank Wire Transfer, Fast Bank Transfer
Overview of Scottish gambling & history
The overall status when it comes to gambling in Scotland is very much in line with the laws and regulations set out for the entirety of the United Kingdom. Over time, additions to the legislation in the country has led to the progression and expansion of the gambling industry. And this factors in as one source of revenue for both Scotland and the UK.
Things weren’t always this way for gambling in the country though. In fact, before the Victorian era came along, bets and wagers were placed solely between men under what was known as a gentleman’s agreement. This was generally a straight up wager though, without the odds that gambling sites and establishments provide today. Early bookmakers of the 1800s were often illegal ones and at the time, the legal ones were very tightly regulated.
Alas, it was when the 1960s rolled around that the industry had a shift in its stance. Gambling was pretty much entirely legalised at this time, making way for bookmaker shops and licensed betting to take place in the UK and, of course, Scotland was a part of this. In the proceeding 40 years after, the gambling law became very much more relaxed as the years rolled on. Throughout the years, betting shops and casinos began popping up throughout the United Kingdom, with many of them being in Scotland itself. Therefore, its popularity obviously grew too, meaning that the expansion of gambling across the country became quite its own entity.
Online casino and gambling laws in Scotland
In 2005, the Gambling Act came to prominence in the United Kingdom, which of course, also affected Scotland. The Gambling Commission also came about at this time, in order to regulate the industry more effectively. As of this time, all operators were required to receive a licence from the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, regardless of whether operating offline or online. Providing gambling services to players of the UK without one of these was, and still is deemed as illegal. Online gambling was also covered under the new Gambling Act, making it legal for online sites to provide such gaming services to players from Scotland and the rest of the UK.
The only requirement for online casinos, poker rooms, bingo sites and others to be able to do this was to receive the aforementioned licence from the Gambling Commission. This rule remains in effect today, with any platform wishing to provide games to the UK market needing to hold a licence from the Commission. From then on, it must also adhere to certain rules that protect the gambling community. This being the case, Scottish players can easily access both local and offshore platforms that possess a gambling licence from the regulatory body of the UK. For citizens of the country, gambling is very much a free and liberal market to access, meaning that all players have the ability to satisfy their gaming needs in one way or another.