Online Casinos in Iceland
As mentioned earlier, online casinos are available and using their services will not entail any sanctions against the players. Opening a website of this kind will seem impossible in Iceland due to the gambling ban. Nevertheless, foreign resources are readily available and are generally not blocked. As far as sports betting goes, many foreign websites accept players from Iceland; among the most visited are Coolbet and Epicbet, which hold Estonian licences but no Icelandic one. The only domestic online offer is the website of Íslensk getspá and Íslenskar getraunir, based in Reykjavik, which sells Lottó, EuroJackpot and Lengjan sports bets. According to an estimate by Gaming Compliance International commissioned by the University of Iceland Lottery, Icelanders' betting market was worth about ISK 51.8 billion in 2025, up from ISK 46.8 billion in 2024.
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Gambling Games in Iceland
Since there are no sanctions on foreign operators in the country, most of the websites do not impose any restrictions on accepting payments from Icelandic users. The player can choose virtually any online casino and use its services without fear of any sanctions. In 2026 the slots most often played by visitors from Iceland on SlotsPlay were IGT's Pharaoh's Fortune and Cleopatra, followed by Pandas Wealth by BGaming, Book of Ra Deluxe 6 and Gates of Olympus Super Scatter. There are no developers of gaming software operating in Iceland. Nevertheless, there is a number of developers whose products are themed to Iceland. They are slots such as Iceland by Spadegaming and Reindeer Wild by Genesis Gaming.
Gambling Legislation
At the present time the gambling industry in Iceland is regulated by Articles 183 and 184 of the General Penal Code of 1940, whose penalties were last revised in 1998. According to them, making a business of gambling or betting, drawing others into it, or profiting from gambling held on one's premises are violations of the law, punishable by fines or up to one year in prison. In 1994 slot machines were legalised in the country by the Act on Collection Machines (No. 73/1994). They can be placed near petrol stations or bars. Another legal variety is lottery, which under the Lotteries Act (No. 38/2005) needs a licence from the district commissioner, while games for money need a special law. Under these special laws the Minister of Justice has licensed only two organisations to run slot machines: the University of Iceland Lottery (Happdrætti Háskóla Íslands) and Íslandsspil, owned by the Icelandic Red Cross, the ICE-SAR rescue association and the SÁÁ addiction charity. Theoretically, other companies have the opportunity to get a license to run lotteries and organise bookmaking operations, but in practice this is difficult to implement. The profits of the organisers go to charity, universities and sport. Besides the main operators, there are also Íslensk getspá (lotto, Act No. 26/1986) and Íslenskar getraunir (sports betting, Act No. 59/1972) operating in the country. At the present time there are no signs that Icelandic authorities will ever make gambling laws more lenient.
Development of the Gambling Market in Iceland
So far the Government of Iceland has not proposed a law that would legalise gambling in the foreseeable future, although in 2026 a Ministry of Justice task force on gambling policy was discussing a "mixed route" that would restrict foreign betting and gambling sites and let the domestic operators that already run slot machines move online. Groups representing problem gamblers oppose the idea and call for the slot machines to be closed. Meanwhile, financial analysts unanimously claim that such a step could have strengthened the region's weak economy. A University of Iceland youth survey published in June 2026 found that around 40% of upper secondary school students had gambled in the past year, with online slots the most common form. No official statistics on how active adult Icelanders are in online casinos are available, but a large Nordic study of gambling habits was under way in 2026. The probability of legalisation of gambling cannot be ruled out. So, Iceland is not the friendliest country towards gambling. The list of allowed entertainment is small, but there are foreign online casinos that are always willing to assist the fans.
