Gambling has been around since approximately 3000 BCE, with various human settlements and eras providing evidence of games of chance, scorecards, and even wager slips. However, its ancient history has done little to make it less divisive to modern audiences, and several countries around the world still have outright bans on gambling.
Some of these prohibit gambling due to religious reasons, particularly in Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Indonesia. Others, such as Japan, cite it as a moral failing and consider the ban as an act of protecting its society (but it is not as if there isn’t any gambling in practice in some of these nations). For countries with regulated gambling markets, though, the revenue only continues to grow each year.
How much revenue came from gambling in 2025?
The past few years have been turbulent for the hospitality and gaming industries, yet most countries have reported rising revenue figures compared to the previous year. In 2025, the licensed Brazilian betting sector generated BRL37bn ($7bn), North America collected $80bn in revenue, Europe is predicted to bring in around €127.7bn ($150.4bn) in total, Macau reported MOP 247.4bn ($30.7bn) and Hong Kong rounded out the figures with HK$43.8bn ($5.6bn).
Either through taxed revenue, donations or company initiatives, gambling operators have funded research into gambling harm prevention, paid for defibrillators to be installed for vulnerable members of the community, launched multi-day business festivals to highlight local start-ups and paid for public fireworks displays, just to name a few examples. Not to mention the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of jobs the industry creates globally.
As for cold hard cash, Fred and Peter Done, the family behind Betfred, were listed as the number one taxpayers in the UK in the last 12 months. The Done family paid around £400m in tax, while Denise Coates of bet365 was estimated to have paid around £227m. This was more than James Dyson, Glenn Gordon, John Timpson, Mary and Douglas Perkins of Specsavers and Tim Martin of Wetherspoons paid… combined.
Entain CEO Stella David also said in a Q3 call last year that for every pound the business makes in the UK, two-thirds of it goes to the UK Government. With the company predicting $2.75bn in net revenue in its FY25 report in a few weeks, this is no small amount, either. All of this goes to say, gambling brings in a significant amount to local governments, with much of it reinvested back into the local economy.
How is gambling handled in Asia and the UAE?
As previously mentioned, many countries have solid reasons to deny the legalisation of gambling. In Islamic countries, gambling is considered haram and strictly forbidden; people who practise the religion are prohibited from taking part in any gambling activities, even when abroad. On one hand, you have historical and cultural values. On the other, you have tourism.
In 2024, Wynn Resorts was awarded the first gambling licence in the United Arab Emirates and will become the first casino resort in the country in 2027. Wynn Al Marjan Island will feature hotel towers, private villas, exclusive suites and 101 berths for superyachts. It will also house a casino on the 22nd floor, which has been dubbed a “sky gaming casino,” owing to the outside view.
South Korea and Japan have historically viewed gambling as problematic, but these two have also seen major developments in recent years. New resorts have opened in South Korea under a strict foreign-player-only policy, while Kangwon Land has committed billions into revamping itself to stay competitive in the local market. Japan will open its first official casino resort with MGM Osaka around 2030, and although there has been no confirmation that this will be open to foreign players only, there is still time for the policy to change before opening.
Gambling will always be a part of the economy, but it seems more likely that individual governments will continue to lean on the industry, or distance themselves, depending on how well other sectors in the country are doing. Although the word reliable seems antithetical to the holistic gambling ethos, its potential to drive revenue will always be undisputed
In the wake of India tightening its gambling laws, Sri Lanka has also launched a new casino resort under Melco, called City of Dreams. In Hong Kong, the Jockey Club is trusted to run all gambling operations, while Macau is used to concentrate any gambling activity from around China into one place.
Ultimately, even regions that have always opposed gambling are beginning to weigh up the benefits of revenue, even if only from tourists, against potential societal harm. Foreign-player-only casinos have the added benefit of employing in disadvantaged areas, while ensuring that no citizens are allowed to play.
But is it all about the money, money, money?
There are some fringe cases where stopping gambling legislation has made objective sense, even for those within the industry. Last year, Timor-Leste closed its iGaming industry only months after its launch, revoking licences and refusing to award new ones. The local government explained that, due to the island’s size and location, it was too vulnerable to crime, citing explicit concerns about national security, social stability and economic integrity.
Bhutan, a country famous for prioritising its Gross National Happiness policy over all else, has also prevented gambling from ever gaining traction in the country. The previous King decided that the country must prioritise social well-being over commercial success, which naturally ruled wagering activities out pretty quickly.
Over in the US, it is the slow pace of lawmakers that is preventing a lot of progress in terms of legalising gambling. Maine is expected to become the eighth state to launch online casinos this year, with Massachusetts close behind as a potential ninth, while Missouri launched online sports betting in December 2025. Virginia, Texas, New York and New Hampshire have been marked as the next states to watch, but slow is the bill to become law.
Conclusion
For countries with relaxed religious expectations and established measures to tackle financial crime, legalising and taxing gambling seems like an obvious choice, even when it is offered in moderation. Several European countries still offer casinos or lotteries under state monopolies, while other jurisdictions in the US are still cautious to open up to iGaming despite allowing land-based casinos for many years already.
For other nations, including those in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, unclear statutes and slow-moving reforms are creating a landscape of legal ambiguity and confused expectations. Even in Japan, just after MGM Osaka was announced, new laws were introduced to tighten restrictions on iGaming. This push-and-pull effect will likely be felt for the next few years as governments continue to act unclearly towards the market.
This is also not helped by the fact that many of the countries that still outlaw gambling have not stopped it from happening entirely. Illegal casinos operate everywhere, even in regulated markets, but are obviously more prolific in places where gambling is banned. These operations are often heavily linked with organised crime and have no player protections in place, making it dangerous for citizens who will gamble no matter what local regulations say about the matter.
However, nothing lasts forever. Global politics is constantly shifting, and even on a local level, operators gain and lose favour with crowds on a day-to-day basis. Gambling will always be a part of the economy, but it seems more likely that individual governments will continue to lean on the industry, or distance themselves, depending on how well other sectors in the country are doing. Although the word ‘reliable’ seems antithetical to the holistic gambling ethos, its potential to drive revenue will always be undisputed.
The number of worldwide land-based casinos in operation is slowly approaching 10,000
