ECA calls for action as EU black market reaches €91.6bn

The European Casino Association (ECA) has become the latest organisation to call for stronger cross-border enforcement against illegal online gambling after revealing that the black market targeting EU consumers reached an estimated €91.6bn (£78.3bn) in 2025.

The figure is up around 14% year-on-year and was presented for the first time during a high-level roundtable in the European Parliament.

It replaces the previous 2024 estimate of €80bn that had originally been used in the meeting’s title and means illegal operators deprived EU member states of an estimated €22.9bn in tax revenue during 2025.

Hosted by Member of European Parliament Lukas Mandl, the roundtable brought together representatives from many industry stakeholders including:

• The European Commission
• The Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA)
• Eurojust
• The Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on Europol (JSPG) 
• National gambling regulators

ECA: over 6,000 black market operators active

The ECA report estimates that more than 6,200 illegal gambling operators are actively targeting EU consumers and claims that unlicensed businesses now account for the majority of online gambling revenue across the EU-27.

“The 2025 data from the GCI report leaves no room for doubt: illegal online gambling is a fast-growing, cross-border problem that puts players, especially young adults, at high risk, deprives societies of much-needed tax revenues, and undermines trust in the regulated market,” said ECA Chair, Erwin van Lambaart.

“Licensed casinos and their online businesses operate under strict rules and invest heavily in responsible gambling and anti-money-laundering measures. Yet illegal operators, often based outside the EU, can reach European consumers at the click of a button, without safeguards, without oversight and without contributing to our communities.

“This is why we need strong political will and strengthened public-private cooperation that is aligned with this reality. By connecting national enforcement efforts, financial intelligence units and sector expertise, European institutions and agencies such as the European Commission, Europol and AMLA can help us turn data into action. 

“If we fail to act now, the illegal online market will continue to grow at the expense of players, public finances and legitimate businesses.”

The discussion comes shortly after the European Commission proposed reforms to Europol’s mandate, with participants highlighting the agency’s role in tackling cross-border illegal gambling operations.

Mandl described illegal online gambling as ‘a serious cross-border threat’ affecting consumer protection, organised crime and the integrity of the EU’s internal market.

EU member states such as Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden have had issues with black market prominence. 

There is particular cause for concern in the former, where channelisation rates are estimated to be at a severely low point.

Deutscher Sportwettenverband (DSWV), the trade association of Germany’s licensed online sportsbooks, previously estimated a potential loss in betting turnover to unregulated operators of €300m-to-€400m during the ongoing FIFA World Cup.

Meanwhile, the German gambling regulator, Glücksspielbehörde (GGL), is currently undertaking a landmark review of the country’s gambling framework.

The Netherlands’ Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has been implementing all kinds of regulation for gambling operators in recent times while it also handed out a record fine to Novatech for operating illegally. There is no sign that this penalty has been settled.

In Sweden, the channelisation rate continued to fall in 2025 and now sits at 84% – inciting fury from the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling (BOS).

The prevalence of illegal operators is not a problem that is limited to countries in the EU. 

Australia, the US, the UK and many African and South American jurisdictions have experienced their own black market woes, though all pointedly similar – growth via advertising and headline sign-up bonuses. 

It makes it all the more obvious that cross-border collaboration is necessary to take on this fight, though what is less obvious is how to go about that. 

Enforcement action against the payment service providers (PSPs) facilitating deposits and withdrawals on illegal platforms has been cited, as has working with Big Tech whose platforms these companies use to market themselves. 

In the opinion of the European Commission though, it has legislation in place which will allow them to tackle the latter.

Last month, it replied to concerns around the Digital Services Act (DSA) and explained that it has the ability to provide mechanisms in which illegal content can be identified and removed from social media sites.

But it seems that, as it stands, regulators are continuing to struggle in the fight against the black market. 

To compound matters, they will also be feeling the wrath of frustration directed towards them by licensed operators who are losing out on business due to the black market, while finding themselves subject to more and more stringent regulations.