Benefits and Drawbacks of Offshore Gambling Companies

In the UK, online gamblers have hundreds of online gambling sites from which to choose. All kinds of gambling sites are available including horse racing, bingo, lotteries, sportsbooks, and online casinos.

If you live in the UK, you probably have enjoyed the experience of gambling through online gambling sites that are licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission. You might also be aware that the UKGC requires its online gambling operators to make sure customers/gamblers have access to problem gambling resources like GamStop.

With so many licensed online gambling options from which to choose, it begs the question: “Why would a UK resident choose to gamble through offshore gambling operators?”

For the most part, the gamblers who would do that are typically gamblers who registered to become part of the GamStop Self-exclusion database. As part of that database, they are excluded from having access to any UK gambling website that has subscribed to the GamStop scheme. The good thing about the program is the registered gamblers get to dictate the length of time they will be excluded.

The bad thing about the program in the eyes of some registered gamblers is the program works very well. If anyone should decide they are okay to start gambling online again, most UK-licensed online gambling sites will block them. That leaves them with limited the options like using offshore and non GamStop casino sites listed on Casino-Wise.com.

The Advantages of Using Offshore Online Gambling Operators

Let’s say you are one of the aforementioned GamStop registered gamblers, and you decide to take your online gambling activities abroad. There are some advantages to doing this.

First, you will find that online gambling operators all over the world tend to be very welcoming to gamblers from the UK. In fact, a lot of European online operators will target their marketing efforts to UK gamblers just like you. They do this because they know UK gamblers have money and love to gamble online.

With the door wide open, you will come to realize you will have hundreds of online casinos from which to choose. Of course, there will be substantially fewer online sportsbooks and horse racing sites from which to choose. For the most part, these sites accept many of the same banking options and offer many of the same betting options as you encountered with UK operators. It will feel like home.

The Disadvantages of Using Offshore Online Gambling Operators

While there is nothing wrong with you taking your business abroad, you need to understand there are a few significant disadvantages to doing this. The disadvantages include:

• Connectivity to offshore operators
• Licensing and regulatory issues
• Gambling account funding restrictions
• Protection from rogue operators and disputes

Connectivity to offshore operators

While most offshore operators are very accepting of UK gamblers, they don’t always allow UK gamblers to use UK IP addresses. If you were to encounter this issue, you would have to subscribe to a VPN service and connect through servers in countries to which a particular operator grants access.

Licensing and regulatory issues

The UK gambling industry is among the most heavily regulated gambling industries in the world. If you take your business abroad, there is a good chance you will be dealing with online gambling operators that don’t operate under strict guidelines. That opens the door to rogue operators and more potential issues.

Gambling account funding restrictions

The UK government is not very fond of UK residents using debit/credit cards to fund their gambling activities in foreign countries. If you are gambling offshore, your best funding options would likely be popular eWallet solutions and some cryptocurrencies.

Protection from rogue operators and disputes

When issues and disputes arise with UK online gambling operators, the UKGC does not offer the same level of protection to foreigners as it does to UK gamblers. You can expect the regulatory bodies in other countries to also treat foreigners the same way. The bottom line is you would likely have to accept more risk when gambling in other jurisdictions.