Online Gambling in Vanuatu

Online gambling in Vanuatu started in 1999. Before then, gambling was prohibited.

Aside from allowing persons residing in Vanuatu to gamble online, the country also provides online gaming licenses for lotteries, casinos and sports books.

In 2000, the Electronic Transactions Act was created to set up the rules for making a legal contract using digital records. The E-Business Act also served to set up a free trade zone where businesses could conduct activities over the Internet. Foreign companies or individuals are allowed to set up a website based in Vanuatu without having to create an international corporation.

In March of 2003, the Vanuatu government released an amendment to make interactive gaming legislation more competitive for betting exchanges and sportsbooks. This brought about a new licensing fee structure, restricting operations to Event Wagering - Fixed Odds, P2P or Parimutuel.

The Vanuatu licensing process is regulated by the Finance Ministry, the Department of Customs and Inland Revenue.

Through the year online casinos in Vanuatu have benefited from Australia's Interactive Gambling Bill which forbids Australian-based Internet gambling companies from offering their services to Australian residents.

About Vanuatu

Vanuatu, officially known as the Republic of Vanuatu, is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is located about some 1,750 kilometers (1,090 miles) east of northern Australia, 500 kilometers (310 miles) northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.

Vanuatu covers an area of 12,190 square kilometers (about 4,710 square miles). It consists of about 82 relatively small islands, 65 of which are inhabited. Vanuatus population as of 2009 is 243,304.