Online Gambling to Sweep Eastern Europe

Romania and Moldova are turning to online gambling to help generate vital revenue for the state. The Eastern European countries wish to regulate the online gambling market in a bid to generate tax revenues which would see the country at large benefit. Bogdan Dragoi, the Finance Minister for Romania, believes that the online gambling sector could help increase the country’s budget, stating: “we are looking into ways to regulate online gambling, and, if we manage to control money (tax) collection, we will authorize them.”

It is estimated that Romanians now wager up to €500 million at virtual casinos, a large increase compared to the €120 million spent in 2008. The current regulations in Romania don’t explicitly ban or promote online casinos operating in the country; but the laws ban Romanian companies from entering the market.

The government in Moldova announced a project to amend the country’s gambling laws and regulate the online casino industry. Currently betting at virtual casinos is outlawed in the country but many residents are playing at various online casinos and poker rooms such as Pokerstars and PartyGaming. The demand for virtual gaming in Moldova is huge at the moment. The government are keen to tap into the money and filter the money into the countries public services.