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Can I play the Wheel of Wishes slot from my country?

Can I play the Wheel of Wishes slot from my country?

It would be lovely to think that a company could release a slot game such as Wheel of Wishes and then it would be available to everybody across the world to play, but until such a time as we have universal legislation regarding online gambling that is applicable in every corner of the world, that remains a pipe dream.

So while there are many countries where you can play the new Wheel of Wishes slot from Alchemy Gaming (on behalf of Microgaming), there are a small number of countries where you may not be able to play.

Oddly enough, it is not the actual game itself that is the issue, but rather the casino at which the game is hosted and in this article, we are going to take a look at the countries that are banned for some of the most popular casinos hosting Microgaming's new 2 million progressive jackpot slot. Then we will explore some of the key reasons why players in these countries cannot play the game from there.

So let's begin with the list of countries that are generally banned from playing the Wheel of Wishes slot:

Afghanistan, Angola, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Hong Kong, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Malawi, Maldives, Mauritania, Myanmar, Nauru, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Palau, Philippines, Romania, Rwanda, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Timor-Lest, Uganda, United States of America, Zimbabwe.

Special licensing and/or restrictions:

Everybody else can play at a casino of their choice. Note that where a casino does not offer the primary currency unit in your country, you will be eligible to play and receive bonuses in any currency of your choosing, or you may be limited to choosing USD, EUR, CAD, for example.

As you can see, some countries are listed as banned on both lists (for example, the United States of America or Australia), whereas some countries you can play at one set of casinos but not the other (Czech Republic and Russia being examples).

If your country is not listed on either of the banned lists, then you should have a wide selection of casinos to pick from, if it is listed on one list but not the other, then generally you should limit your play to those casinos where you are permitted to sign up. If your country is listed on both lists, then you may struggle to find somewhere that offers the game, although that is dependent on certain factors as we will explore below.

Simply tap on the Play for Real button at the top to start playing!

What are the factors that decide whether you can play Wheel of Wishes in a particular country?

There are a number of different factors that will decide whether or not you can play Wheel of Wishes, or indeed any slot game or casino game, in the country where you live. They are perhaps best viewed as a series of filters which, if at any point your country doesn't allow them, or enforces them in some cases, means that you are not likely to be able to play the game.

Let's begin by taking a look at the first and most obvious barrier to playing Wheel of Wishes in your country.

  1. The legality of slots and casino games in specific countries/jurisdictions

While online casino gaming is legal in many parts of the world and there are few, if any, restrictions in place stopping people playing and enjoying these types of games, there are countries which have banned slot games, online casinos, casino games or indeed, all forms of online gambling or wagering.

However, there are many countries where the laws around gambling and online gambling are somewhat confusing. Some allow online gambling, others ban online gambling and allow land based gambling. Others allow some forms of gambling, but not others, some bans casinos based in their native country from offering games, but does not ban foreign-based sites. Others may only allow one particular form of gambling, such as lottery games or sports betting.

Good examples of this are countries like the United States, where online gambling is legal at national level, but each individual state can decide to either allow it, or to ban it.

Even when you take out of the list countries where online casino games (including slots) are banned, there are still a large number of countries in the world that do permit online slot gaming. So what is the next level of filter that can determine the availability of a game like Wheel of Wishes?

  1. Licensing and Gambling Regulation

The next big issue facing an online casino wanting to offer games to people based in a country is how that country decides to enforce its gambling laws. Many countries have found that their old gambling laws (which were written many years ago) were not fit for purpose in the digital age and as such, they have (or are in the process of) drawing up new laws which are more reflecting of modern times.

Many countries will only allow licensed operators to operate in their country. They may decide to adopt an internationally accepted license (such as those granted by Curacao or Malta for example) but in some countries (such as the UK), casinos may need to meet criteria in order to apply for a gaming license to operate within that country. In the UK, the organisation overseeing this is the Gambling Commission.

A casino then has to weigh up whether the pros and cons of acquiring a license in a country are worth the effort. For some jurisdictions, it can be relatively painless to receive a license, for others it can be an expensive and time-consuming exercise. As such, sometimes casinos may decide not to bother pursuing a license for certain countries for precisely those reasons.

It is also worth noting that with many countries reviewing their rules and regulations regarding online gambling, even if you have a license to operate in a country, when new rules and regulations are implemented, then the situation can change. A good example of this has occurred recently in Australia, Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden, just to name a few, which has seen some big-name operators pull out of each market due to recently implemented changes to the law on gambling in each country.

On the flip side of this, new legislation can also open new markets as we are seeing across several states in the United States who are now starting to allow many different forms of online gambling after recent law changes.

Summary

In some countries there are a high number of slots fans and in others very little. Regardless where you live the process of finding a good casino to play the Wheel of Wishes slot, or indeed any game, is a lot more complicated than you would initially expect. That is why WheelOfWishes.net is here to guide slots fans to the right casinos.

If you are fortunate enough to be able to access the Wheel of Wishes slot game, just thank your lucky stars that you live in a FREE country!