Illegal gambling in Europe has tripled in six years, Euromat study suggests
The study estimates that the illegal gambling market in Europe is now worth €12bn and warns that it will continue to grow.
Belgium.- The European Gaming and Amusement Federation (Euromat) has published findings from a study that suggests that the size of the illegal gambling market in Europe has grown three times since 2020. The research warns that illegal offerings are “establishing themselves as the go-to online sites for players”.
The research commissioned by Euromat found that the value of Europe’s illegal online gambling market has tripled in the last six years to €12bn. That’s based on an analysis of 28 online gambling markets, including the UK, conducted by Regulus Partners and Helios. They found that unregulated activity now represents 25 per cent of the region’s entire online sector.
The study found that the growth of the illegal sector has been significantly boosted by “government policies that create consumer friction,” with the key drivers being limited consumer choice, low visibility, distortions of price or value, and interventionist measures such as affordability checks. The report warns that the biggest black-market gambling operators now have “recognisable brands with large market share” and that their share of the market will continue to grow if governments advance with more restrictive regulation.
“The illegal black market is a major concern for everybody who recognises the importance of a progressive and fairly regulated leisure and entertainment economy,” said Euromat president Jason Frost. “Organised Crime Groups treat illegal gambling as a ‘cash cow’ with the profits providing ready-to-use liquidity to reinvest into high-risk, high-reward criminal enterprises such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, and firearms smuggling.”
“Consumer protection policies are key but become counter-productive if they succeed in driving players into the black-market,” said Helios project lead Filip Jelavić. “The more engaged and higher value customers who seek black markets out are often the most vulnerable to harm or exploitation.”
