[wladimir]

Why should it be treated differently from any other startup?

A lot of people have the opinion that gambling does not produce "value", and that it makes people addicted to it, while running them into the ground financially.

I'm not sure about the rest of Europe, but here in The Netherlands it's not even allowed to start a gambling site, as the state has an absolute monopoly on it (Holland Casinos).

[ocirion]

That would be like banning liquor stores or corner shops selling cigarettes. The monopoly is because the government wants a piece of it. The potential of gambling sites to make huge amounts of money is why the government takes any interest. They will restrict them and/or tax them to fill their own coffers.

[Leynos]

As a parallel example, there are states in America where the only off-licences (liquor stores) permitted to operate are the state run monopoly.

My understanding of the reasoning behind this is centred around morality, although I imagine there's also a financial incentive for the state to maintain this control.

[jeltz]

This is quite obvious in Europe. This financial crisis has spawned a surge in interest in stronger government regulation of gambling throughout Europe. A couple of years ago there was little to no interest.

[wladimir]

We also have high tax rates on booze and cigarettes, for similar reasons, officially to discourage over-use and finance the cost to society (healthcare etc...).

[kamjam]

"A lot of people have the opinion that banking does not produce "value", and that it is addicted to government money, while running them into the ground financially."

There, I've correct that for you :)