The online gambling business has helped spur the economies of some countries by generating employment and alleviating poverty. However, the trade-offs are social ills like illegal migration, human trafficking and gambling addiction.

The Philippines, for one, has banned offshore gaming operations called POGOs from the country due to the increasing crimes involving its foreign workers.

In Brazil, the authorities began closing down more than 2,000 betting sites to address what they called a betting “pandemic.” Many Brazilians got hooked on sports betting and online casinos with the poor bettors getting mired in debt.

For the remaining and future online gaming operators, the Brazilian government will subject them to tighter regulations, including monitoring for money laundering and a ban on minors wagering.

While Brazil and the Philippines are doing something about online gambling, there are countries doing the opposite. A last-minute court ruling opened up a specific gambling operation in the United States.

A court in Washington on 2 October ruled that Kalshi, a startup that has been trying to introduce political betting in the country for years, could take wagers while legal appeals by regulators against the company continue.

Within days, Kalshi took in more than $6.3 million in bets on who would win the presidential election on 5 November, Agence France-Presse reports.

Americans have also placed bets on offshore platforms. More than $1.7 billion has been placed on the Kamala Harris-Donald Trump matchup on the offshore site Polymarket, where the Republican ex-president held a 54 to 45 advantage over the Democratic vice president on Friday evening.