Casinos have always been associated with gambling activities. The activity of gambling used to take place under proper shelters where all the interested people would play. In fact gambling has emerged out to be one of the most popular gaming activities. The money that can be gambled varies and it depends upon the person gambling. Many countries have an age limit below which gambling is an offence. With the improvement in technology, casinos have gone online and are now available as internet casinos. The online casinos can be divided into 3 groups, web based online casinos, download based online casinos and live casinos. There are various games available on online casinos which a gamer can play. Some of these are roulette, online poker, online slot games, craps, blackjack and baccarat. These can be played using any interface through the various online casinos. Like real gambling, even online gambling has been a subject for regularities by legal authorities. Many countries have separate restrictions and control over the extent of gambling being done through the online casinos. France is planning to legalise online gambling so that it can be taxed and becomes a source of income for the government. But the license will be given to only those casinos which would not cause social problems. In Australia to protect people from the ill effects of gambling, IGA (Interactive Gambling Act) was passed in 2001. In India with the exception of Mumbai, online gambling is allowed. In the United States of America various acts have been passed from time to time to exercise a control over gambling through online casinos. But the decision that would have affected the largest number of people worldwide was by Google and Yahoo in 2004 to ban all online casinos advertisements from their pages.
The restrictions that have been imposed on online casinos by various countries seem justified to a large extent as the online casinos can create many problems for the citizens and the government. The problem of pathological gamblers emerging due to the wide usage of internet games is a serious concern. It is believed that online casinos can cause money laundering and illegal transfer of money although the opinion between various organisations remains divided on this.
It is suggested that like other online applications, online casinos be taken just as a source of entertainment and fun. An addiction or a passion for this can lead to serious problems in the lives of the gambler which is not good for the progress of any society