STUDY: Illegal Platforms Accounts for 71% of EU Gambling Activity

As the pervasiveness of online gambling continues to increase, European regulators are having a hard time staying ahead of nefarious operators.

The European Casino Association (ECA), a trade group representing companies and interest holders in the European Union, found that illegal gambling accounted for €80.7 billion ($94.1 billion - 71 percent) of online gaming revenue produced in 2024. 

The results came via a study by Yield Sec, which was commissioned by the ECA.

A negative trend

Yield Sec’s team gathered its data through a combination of human and AI resources. All parties monitored the online traffic level of illegal gaming websites, including streaming, sports betting, and online casino gambling. Figures were drawn from “dwell time, activity, and interaction” compared to customers’ online wallets.

Not only did the findings reveal the massive hold the illegal gaming market has on the industry, but it also showed that illegal online gambling grew 53 percent over the last two years. That marked more growth than what was experienced by the regulated online gaming market.

This worrying research underlines the very real threat posed by the growing, unsafe gambling black market,” said Grainne Hurst, CEO of the Betting and Gaming Council, to City AM. “These illegal operators don’t have any [consumer] protections or standards … and don’t return a penny to the Treasury.”

The recent growth in illegal gaming can be traced back to COVID-19 lockdowns, when casinos were forced to shut their doors to the public, or flat-out went out of business.

Efforts to regulate gambling advertisements to reduce the potential for addictive behaviors have also resulted in fewer eyes seeing legal platforms, leaving illicit operators to reap the benefits. The report noted that 92 percent of gambling-related content presented to EU consumers was linked to illegal operators.

81 million (18 percent of the population) interacted with unregulated outfits.

UK also experiencing issues

The growth of illegal gambling isn’t only taboo, it’s extremely harmful financially. The study estimated that governments lost €20 billion ($23.3 billion) in tax revenue in 2024 due to the popularity of unlicensed platforms. 

The rise in cryptocurrency and prediction markets has also increased the number of methods for customers to make deposits. Licensed platforms also don’t accept cryptocurrency wagers, pushing that demographic into the black market.

The study ultimately concluded that more influence needs to come from local governments, since licensing on its own is not enough. Without increases in safeguards, Yield Sec warned that the gambling market will tilt even further toward illegal platforms.

Although the study examined members of the EU, Europe’s illegal gambling issue is also present in the U.K.

Hurts is encouraging Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, the UK’s chief financial minister, to walk back proposed gambling revenue tax hikes from 15 to 21 percent out of fear that the change will only push consumers even further toward illegal operators.