You may have read several articles on news websites over the last several months regarding the state of iGaming in Eastern Europe. The situation is much different than in the West, where recalcitrant European governments refused to open their online gambling markets for some time but eventually came up with a solid legislation. In my opinion, the state of gambling in post-socialist countries is noticeably different from that of other countries in Europe yet brings some huge benefits. The first one? Avid gamblers who have a penchant for high risk games and seek fast wins.

Nowadays, the fast emerging online gambling industry of Eastern Europe is attracting plenty of interest from both Internet and land-based operators. Despite the economic crisis, this region holds massive potential, as more and more established online gambling brands expand their services to the East. The downside? There is not that much cash as in the Western countries. [See this chart]

Despite the fact that Europe is often considered a “single state” regarding financial significance, and it is to some extent as it is governed and represented by European Union’s legislation, the individual nations are still largely in charge of applying their own laws. This is especially true within the gambling industry since there is no regulation or legislation when it comes to gambling and betting all through Europe.

Online gambling offers interesting opportunities in most parts of Eastern Europe, with countries such as Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic embracing the Internet gambling ‘revolution’ by allowing companies and operators other than the national lottery to request and hold licenses.