Europe's approach to online gaming has evolved dramatically over the past decade. When online gaming first began to grow in popularity, "offshore" jurisdictions like Malta, Gibraltar and the Isle of Man embraced the industry – offering licensing and regulations that frequently were honored and accepted by other European countries. The licensing fees and taxes paid by the online gaming companies became a major source of revenue for Europe's "offshore" jurisdictions. In the past five years, however, Europe has shifted to a country-by-country regulatory approach to online gaming. Now, to a large degree, operators have to be licensed in each country they operate in instead of holding just one license from Malta, Gibraltar or the Isle of Man. Individual countries are setting different tax rates for the industry, and the overall regulatory, compliance and tax burden for the industry has increased dramatically.