A recent study has revealed that illegal online gambling, like online casinos and bookies, now accounts for 71% of the European Union’s online gambling market, with an estimated revenue of €80.6bn (£70.8bn).
The report, which was commissioned by the European Casino Association (ECA) and conducted by YieldSec, shows that the illegal gambling market’s revenue is more than double that of the legal markets of €33.6bn.
Due to this, the extent of the illegal gambling market shows that European Union states are losing out on more than €20bn in tax revenues in 2024 alone – if these companies were taxed at the EU-wide rate of 25%.
Erwin van Lambaart, Chairman of the ECA stated: “These findings confirm what the ECA has warned about for years: illegal online gambling is not a marginal issue; it is an economic and societal threat. Every euro lost to criminal operators is a euro stolen from European citizens, from legitimate and licensed businesses, and from our communities.
“As ECA, we remain committed to working with European and national authorities to protect customers, tackle such criminal activities, uphold our industry’s integrity, and ensure that the benefits of a well-regulated industry are not undermined by illegal operators.”
Illegal operators in the EU continues to grow
This report by YieldSec, who are a global intelligence platform monitoring the total online gambling marketplace, is believed to be one of the biggest ever conducted.
It further revealed that there are over 6,200 illegal online operators that are targeting customers across all 27 states in the region, with an estimated 81 million people in some way exposed to illegal gambling operators.
These unlicensed operators are able to exploit online advertising channels to reach vulnerable customers, including those who have self-excluded from the regulated market and even underage users.
EU countries unite against illegal operators
This report follows the news that seven gambling authorities have agreed to share information and coordinate actions against illegal online gambling.
Great Britain, Germany, France, Austria, Portugal, Italy and Spain all agreed to the deal at the first ever International Gaming Congress in Madrid.
The seven countries identified three main actions:
- Exchanging information and data on illegal operators.
- Coordinating complaints to social media and digital platforms to limit illicit advertising.
- Sharing best practices and knowledge to enhance the detection, investigation and enforcement of illegal activities.
YieldSec’s report reveals that an incredible 92% of all online gambling content, that’s visible to EU users, originates from illegal gambling platforms.
Regulated operators, who have to follow strict advertising rules and compliance costs, are increasingly unable to compete with these unlicensed platforms who can offer unrestricted bonuses, anonymous payments and unlimited betting.
With countries looking to increase taxes on the regulated market, they might be better inclined to target the unregulated market instead. Those platforms offer far more dangers for consumers and, as this report reveals, are far more prominent than the industry might have expected.
