As the first decade of the 21^st Century came to a close, the online gambling industry showed a great deal of activity as countries in Europe began making their own laws while generally ignoring the European Union (EU) trade agreements.  One such country that is developing a more liberalized attitude toward online gambling legislation is Switzerland. 

The Swiss, known for their watches, chocolate and banks (not necessarily in that order), are not working on online sports betting and poker segments of the online gambling industry, unlike other European countries such as France.  The Swiss are looking into revamping their online gambling segment.  The Swiss model could eventually serve as an online gambling model for other countries, such as the United States, because both markets are establishing online gambling legislation in their respective countries as a direct result of competition emanating from foreign online companies.

The problems facing the country of Belgium are somewhat different than those of Switzerland.  In an effort to control the corruption that has infiltrated into a few Internet gambling sites due to organized crime, the Belgian authorities installed new regulatory laws to oversee online poker, despite warnings to the contrary from the EU.  The new laws would prohibit Belgian players from playing on major poker sites outside the jurisdiction of Belgium.

The EU has not been consistent in its regulatory oversight over the nationalization of online poker.  While countries such as France and Belgium have received stern warning from the EU that the nationalization of online poker in those countries is in direct violation of the EU trade agreements, other countries, such as Italy, have received tacit permission from the EU to regulate and nationalize their online gambling industry. 

While Onlinegambling.co.uk will be closely watching these international online gambling developments with keen interest over the next few months, there is some recent good news in the industry.  There has been a noticeable increase in free casino gambling over the Holidays, and it is expected that this trend will continue throughout 2010. 

Free casino gambling is a way in which players, such as yourself, can enjoy the finest in online casino games without risking any financial investment.  Free casino gambling also allows you to play your favourite casino games for long stretches at a time in order to improve your casino games skill.