“... allowing people to bet via VPN is a pretty obvious problem...”
Not being able to “control” a “created problem” usually means it is a common desire, hurts no one and should not be anyone’s else’s business....certainly not the jack-boot Praetorians of Imperial DC.
Drugs, gaming, whoring, untaxed liquor, etc have existed for 5,000 years and has always been an excuse to “crack down”.
I agree with you in spirit. On a philosophical level, I am against legislating moral vices do a degree (depends on whether you include violence and theft as moral vices, heh).
But if you are the owner of a platform, you can’t afford to buck the tyrants. Did you develop the betting app because you wanted to die on the hill of universal gambling rights, or did you develop it as a business enterprise. I am (pun) betting most enterprises of this sort are being done as business ventures, not liberty crusades.