Pojęcie hazardu w prawie hazardowym wybranych państw europejskich. Część II. Pojęcie hazardu w świetle definicji legalnych terminu gaming

Abstract

The article is the second in a series of papers that seek to present and analyse the meaning ascribed to the notions of ‘gambling’ and ‘gambling games’ in the gambling law provisions of selected European countries as well as to confront the normative meaning of this concept with gambling characteristics from the perspective of social sciences. The analysis covered provisions of those English-speaking countries in which the notion of ‘gaming’ is used to describe the aggregate category of gambling activities, i.e. Malta and Ireland. The article mainly uses methods of comparative law. The presentation of the characteristics of gambling from the perspective of social science draws on the scientific output of researchers in the field. The studies carried out justified the thesis that the scopes of the notion of ‘gaming’ in the gambling law provisions of Malta and Ireland are substantially different. On the one hand, the situation results from different traditions in the regulation of gambling activities. On the other, it reflects the attitude public authorities currently adopt both to the activities bearing the features of gambling and to such games in which the outcome is determined by the player’s skill but which might pose a threat similar to those related to gambling. In both Malta and Ireland, the normative meaning of ‘gaming’ extends beyond the meaning that is ascribed to the notion of ‘gambling’ in social science.