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.

The article is the first in a series of papers to present and analyse the meaning that is 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 with gambling characteristics from the perspective of social sciences. The following parts of the paper analyse examples of those provisions which do not contain any term for a broad catalogue of gambling activities, as well as selected provisions containing legal definitions of ‘games of chance’ (‘games of luck’). The article mainly uses methods of comparative law. The presentation of the characteristics of gambling from the perspective of social sciences is based on the achievements of social scientists. The research is based on the following research theses. Firstly, regulatory models in which the gambling law provisions specify the characteristics of gambling without indicating a name covering a collective category of gambling games in the definiendum are rare. Such solutions are typical for countries which have so far pursued restrictive gambling policies. Secondly, both in the legal systems in which there is no legal definition of gambling under gambling law and also against the background of the definitions of legal games of chance, one may notice significant differences in the way in which individual features of gambling games are specified, i.e. the dependence of the outcome of a game on chance, player’s financial involvement and the winnings.