Scotland is a constitutional part of the United Kingdom, and although some of the laws are applied only to this country, the laws on betting and gambling apply to all the constitutional parts of the United Kingdom. Therefore, discussing betting laws in Scotland means discussing betting laws in the UK. Let’s see what the law says about betting and how to interpret it as either a visitor or a resident.
Gambling Act 2005
The most important piece that every UK resident must know is the Gambling Act 2005 voted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act refers to England, Wales, and Scotland. However, it has no jurisdiction in Northern Ireland, as they have distinct laws when it comes to gambling.
The act’s jurisdiction relies on creating a gambling commission on the UK level which makes sure that everything is in order. However, it also gives the permission to gamble by transferring its jurisdiction on a local level. This means that the local authorities can alter the law as they please, but any act of gambling or betting will still be supervised by the Gambling Commission.
What Are The Objectives of The Gambling Act 2005?
The Act is not active in order to prohibit any type of gambling activity. In fact, all of the countries in the UK have a long history and tradition when it comes to gambling, especially when it comes to betting. However, it had been a real mess until it was made legal, which put a stop to cheating and crime going on in this field.
Soon after the legalization of gambling and betting, a commission was created to supervise all the activities. This had to be revised with the 2005 Act as many online casinos and bookmakers started popping up and finding their way to new cheating techniques. Moreover, the 2005 Act resolved this problem as well, by:
- Preventing gambling to be a crime and disorder source and by preventing it in supporting any type of crime or illegal activity
- Ensuring that all gambling-related and betting-related activities are fair and conducted in an open and transparent way
- Making sure that underaged or people vulnerable in any way are not exposed to nor harmed by gambling and betting
Conclusion
Gambling and betting in Scotland, as well as in the whole United Kingdom are completely legal, and, what’s more important – completely regulated. This means that you can have fun betting as much as you want, as long as you are not addicted to it and there’s no cheating included.
This being said, you should definitely check out several cool online bookmakers and pick your favorite one. Some of the casinos and sports betting sites also offer many bonuses. The bonus principle is more or less the same for all the platforms.
