The world of gambling has changed immensely over the past couple of decades. In the early 2000s, big winners at the roulette table would have to take their chips to the cashier and wait whilst their winnings were counted out in dollars.

Big winners at the roulette table now can avail of instant withdrawals thanks to online casino gambling. It wouldn’t be so easy to play cards, roulette and slots online though if the industry didn’t generate as much money as it does.

In financial terms, online casinos are the Golden Goose, but which country is collecting the largest Golden Eggs? Read on to find out as we run down the countries with the biggest online gambling revenues.

#5 France: $3.83 billion

Let’s start things off in reverse order with France, the country with the fifth largest online gambling revenue on the planet. The country has been synonymous with liberty and freedom since the Revolution, but when it comes to online gambling liberty and freedom was somewhat behind the curve.

Online gambling was only legalized in France in 2010 and is heavily regulated. Despite the high revenues and relatively low incidents of problem gambling, public opinion in the country is still fairly split on whether online gambling should be legal.

#4 Italy: $4.51 billion

The people of Italy have been gambling, betting and wagering for centuries. The modern day game of backgammon for instance, can trace its roots back to Roman times when Legionnaires would play a variation of the game and bet on the outcome.

Similarly, the modern-day games of baccarat and bingo can both trace their roots back to the country. In terms of online gambling, the country made its first tentative steps toward legalization in 2006 and has gone from strength to strength ever since.

#3 Australia: $6.55 billion

There are only 26 million people in Australia, compared to 59 million in Italy and 68 million in France, so the fact that the country is ahead of those two is impressive. Impressive but not surprising as it’s a well-known fact that Australians have a voracious appetite for gambling.

Want to know something that makes Australia’s placed at third on this list even more impressive? Online casino gambling is illegal in the country! Yes, that’s right, Australians can’t even play roulette and slots online, but they still have the third highest online gambling revenue in the world!

Online sports betting and lotteries are legal though so it’s safe to say that the good people of Australia love a flutter on the rugby and adore buying up lottery tickets. Imagine how high the revenues would be if everything was totally legal!?!

#2 The United States of America: $10.96 billion

In terms of population the USA should be head and shoulders above every single country on this list with its population of 345 million. Yet it is isn’t and that’s because of the country’s almost baffling stance toward online gambling.

Only recently did the federal government lift the ban on most forms of online gambling, thus giving individual states the autonomy to choose whether or not their citizens could legally place wagers online.

The country with the world’s largest economy has seen a slow domino effect take place, with many states following the lead of New Jersey and legalizing online casino gambling and sports betting. However, at the time of writing there are still a number of states where both are illegal. The success of online gambling in the US has had a knock-on effect, neighbors Canada have adopted a similar stance on gambling. Their laws vary by province, however, one key difference is that Canadians aren’t taxed on their winnings so they can take advantage of instant withdrawals with one click without having to report their earnings to the tax man.

In the US, gambling income is taxed at a flat rate of 24%, regardless of the amount you win. This can often act as a deterrent to many, which is quite an odd state of affairs for a country that has given the world Las Vegas!

(Online gambling legislation in the United States is confusing, let this video explain it in more detail for you.)

#1 The United Kingdom: $12.48 billion

The Gambling Act 2005 saw online gambling and sports betting legalized in the UK and led to the establishment of the Gambling Commission. The latter is the world leader when it comes to a gambling regulatory body and is perhaps the sole reason why online gambling has fared so well in the UK over the past nearly 20 years.

Population wise the UK sits just behind France in terms of numbers, so the fact that its gambling revenues are triple that of its close neighbor is testament to the effectiveness of the legislation and regulation in Great Britain.

Countries aspiring to establish a legal framework for online gambling like the Philippines and New Zealand would do well to find a better approach than simply copying the UK.