Paf Director Jesper Eliasson Warns Legal European Gambling Markets Are ‘Defenceless’ Against Black Market Operators
Paf delivered record results in 2025 with revenue rising from €191.7m to €214.5m, a 12% increase. The company followed that performance by acquiring Bel in June this year. Yet Director Jesper Eliasson is sounding an urgent alarm: legal markets across Europe remain vulnerable to illegal operators that ignore taxes, responsible gaming rules, and licensing requirements.
As an operator with licenses in Spain, Sweden, Estonia, and Latvia plus a dominant position in Switzerland, Paf has seen the threat up close. Eliasson’s message ahead of his appearance at the SBC Summit in Lisbon is clear. Without meaningful collaboration between licensed operators and regulators, the regulated sector risks implosion.
Paf’s International Footprint and Swiss Success
Paf pioneered iGaming in 1998 from the Åland Islands. The company now runs some 10 own brands and holds licenses across multiple European jurisdictions. Its international activity has been central to growth.
In Switzerland, Paf entered discussions as early as 2016. It formed a strategic partnership with Grand Casino Luzern and launched mycasino.ch in August 2019. Seven years later the brand generates more than EUR 100 million in annual revenue and holds a market share exceeding 30%.
That success came from first-mover advantage paired with continuous innovation and a relentless focus on customer experience. Yet even market leadership has not shielded the business from today’s primary competitive threat.
The Scale of the Black Market Challenge
Illegal gambling operations account for over 71% of European Union online gambling according to YieldSec, amounting to some €80.6bn. Other estimates place the global black market at over $5.9trn.
Eliasson describes the problem bluntly. Legal operators play on a totally different competitive plane. Young regulated markets with varying national rules have failed to shape frameworks that can outcompete the “wild west” methods of unlicensed operators.
“The legal markets are quite defenceless,” he states, “which can be dramatically changed if the licensed operators and the authorities start to collaborate and share more data and market intelligence.”
In Switzerland the most significant competitive challenge no longer comes from other licensed operators. It comes from the growing presence of illegal operators targeting Swiss consumers. Licensed brands enjoy advantages such as access to local banking and payment infrastructure, yet the black market persists.
All of Paf’s markets face severe attack from remotely suited crypto operators and others without local licenses. These operators avoid local taxes and circumvent rules on products, payments, marketing, bonusing, AML, and responsible gaming.
Risks When Channelisation Falls and Regulation Misfires
In Paf’s home market of Åland, part of Finland, channelisation to the legal market has fallen well below the 90% target. Finland is now overhauling its monopoly system held by state-owned Veikkaus.
Eliasson warns that markets with 50/50% channelisation face an existential threat. “On a scale from 4-10 it is definitely a 10.” If the situation is not addressed, legal markets will implode. That outcome delivers zero taxes, no player protection, and no transparency.
Countries lose important revenues while more people are harmed. The black market acts as a hydra, constantly evolving. Blocked customers denied access due to high spending or unproven affordability are welcomed by unlicensed sites operating from tax havens.
A clear risk lies in over-regulation. The Netherlands example looms large. Eliasson hopes Finland learns from that failure by allowing affiliates and bonus offerings within the framework and preventing neighboring Estonia from becoming a new European Curacao.
Regulators must also decide when a blocked customer can return to the legal market. Without that clarity, players simply migrate offshore.
Toward Harmonised Rules and Operator-Regulator Collaboration
Eliasson sees a potential silver lining in discussions around a pan-EU gambling tax. “I think that a pan-EU gambling tax could be a good thing, but at the same time we need to harmonise all the other terms in such legislation – with the big picture in front of us – that makes it attractive to come and pay taxes and be transparent with your business transactions.”
He cautions against expecting too much. Current trends point toward higher taxes and increased scrutiny, which could push more activity into the shadows.
The baseline, he argues, is accepting that gambling has always existed and always will. Politicians and regulators must stop crafting laws suited only to the next election. Otherwise European residents will continue using the internet to access offshore black market sites.
Practical steps are available today. Regulators could be far more aggressive with digital marketing platforms to ensure only licensed operators can target residents in a specific country. Product rules should reflect reality rather than slowing spin rates or applying excessive risk classifications.
The Bottom Line
Jesper Eliasson’s assessment is sobering yet constructive. Legal markets are defenceless today because regulation has not kept pace with operator innovation or black market agility. For gaming executives and tribal leaders watching European developments, the signal is unmistakable: channelisation below 90% is unsustainable, and fragmented national rules create the very openings illegal operators exploit. The path forward requires genuine data sharing between licensed operators and authorities, harmonised legislation that balances taxation with commercial viability, and a regulatory mindset that treats gambling as a permanent entertainment product rather than an inconvenience. Operators that engage early in these conversations with regulators will be better positioned as markets evolve. Those waiting for perfect policy risk watching their legal share erode further. This inflection point demands collaboration, not complaint.
