TL;DR — EGBA members achieved record €18.0 billion GGR in 2025, up 34%, with stakes up 40% to 248.7 billion and customers up 13% to 43.8 million. Finland ends its monopoly on 1 July 2027, finalizing multi-licensing across the EU. The report also details a key CJEU win and record safer gambling participation.
SCCG Take — Operators gain a fully competitive EU landscape for capital deployment yet must tighten AML and harm-prevention systems to protect margins as Finland opens in 2027.
EGBA Members Post Record €18 Billion GGR in 2025 with 34 Percent Growth as EU Multi-Licensing Reaches Every Jurisdiction
Key Takeaways
- Record GGR Achievement: EGBA members recorded €18.0 billion in online gross gaming revenue in 2025, a 34% increase on 2024.
- Activity Metrics Surge: Stakes placed rose 40% to 248.7 billion while total stake value grew 28% to €275.3 billion and active customer accounts expanded 13% to 43.8 million.
- Final Monopoly Ends: Finland voted in January 2026 to terminate its online gambling monopoly with the multi-licensing framework taking effect 1 July 2027, completing the shift across all EU member states.
- Safer Gambling Record: European Safer Gambling Week 2025 engaged 221 partners, a 14% increase, and introduced messaging at live televised football matches in four countries.
Europe’s regulated online gambling market delivered another year of expansion in 2025. EGBA members drove combined online GGR to a record €18.0 billion. That figure represents a 34% increase on 2024 according to the association’s Annual Activity Report 2026 as first reported by European Gaming.
Multi-licensing has now spread to every EU member state. Operators simultaneously face tighter anti-money laundering oversight. The numbers show both scale and structural change.
Data Shows Broad-Based Growth in Volume and Customers
The underlying activity metrics moved sharply higher. Members placed 248.7 billion online stakes in 2025. This was a 40% rise.
Total stake value climbed 28% to €275.3 billion. Average stake size fell 9% to €1.11. The report ties the decline to a clear industry shift toward higher-frequency, lower-value betting.
Active customer accounts grew 13% to 43.8 million. Customer winnings reached €257.3 billion, up 27%. The aggregate return-to-player rate eased to 93.4% from 93.7% in 2024.
These results came from nine full operator members after Tipico joined during the year. The group held 401 online gambling licences across 22 jurisdictions, up 25% from 321 licences in 2024. From the supplier side this pattern of growth across every major metric points to genuine underlying demand rather than one-off boosts.
Record Participation in European Safer Gambling Week
Player protection efforts gained further traction. The fifth European Safer Gambling Week ran 17-23 November 2025 and set new benchmarks. It attracted 221 partners from 24 countries, a 14% increase on the prior year.
Social media reach expanded 32% to 4.1 million people. The week featured 23 events with 4000 registrations and 120 speakers. For the first time safer gambling messages appeared at live televised football matches in Bulgaria, Germany, Greece and Italy.
Barry Magee, director of communications at EGBA, said: ‘European Safer Gambling Week 2025 was the biggest and most impactful edition yet. The record participation demonstrates that safe and sustainable gambling is a key priority for our sector, with more than 220 organisations uniting in a collective commitment to enhance player protection.’
The report also notes the approval of EN 18144 in September 2025. This first European standard on markers of harm defines nine core behavioural indicators. EGBA initiated the work in 2022 and the standard was formally published in May 2026. Members have committed to alignment.
Legal Victory and Completion of EU Multi-Licensing
Regulatory and legal progress featured prominently. In October 2025 the Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed the Netherlands’ appeal in a long-running state aid dispute. The case originated from EGBA’s 2016 complaint to the European Commission.
The ruling requires the Commission to launch a full formal investigation into whether the Netherlands’ 2014 extension of gambling licences without competitive tender constituted illegal state aid.
Separately Finland’s parliament voted in January 2026 by a 95% majority to end the country’s online gambling monopoly. The new multi-licensing framework takes effect on 1 July 2027. This makes Finland the last EU member state to adopt the competitive model.
Maarten Haijer, secretary general of EGBA, said: ‘In Europe, governments have concluded that public policy objectives, particularly related to consumer protection, are more effectively met through well-regulated online competition fostered by multi-licensing.’
The combination of the court win and Finland’s move completes a decade-long transition to uniform multi-licensing across the EU.
Risks and Operational Pressures Behind the Headline Numbers
Strong growth does not eliminate friction. The report explicitly flags intensifying anti-money laundering scrutiny across European jurisdictions. Compliance costs rise in line with the 25% increase in licences held.
The 0.3 percentage point RTP decline and the 9% drop in average stake warrant monitoring. Higher volume from smaller bets can support top-line growth yet squeeze margins if acquisition and retention expenses accelerate.
In my experience across European regulated markets these regulatory tailwinds require operators to upgrade systems quickly or risk falling behind on both compliance and commercial performance.
Membership expanded with Tipico becoming the ninth full member alongside bet365, Betsson Group, Entain, evoke, FDJ United, Flutter, LeoVegas and Super Technologies. EGBA members represent around 30% of Europe’s online GGR. The secretariat added three new EU-focused roles while two long-serving staff departed after nearly a decade.
What Uniform Regulation Means for Operator Strategy
The data confirms a maturing and competitive European online market. With every EU jurisdiction now under multi-licensing the capital allocation case becomes clearer for operators that can scale across borders while meeting consistent player protection standards.
Finland’s 2027 opening creates the final major addressable market within the bloc. Early movers who integrate the new markers of harm standard and maintain robust AML controls should capture disproportionate share as the competitive field levels.
The real test for 2026 and 2027 will be whether the 34% GGR momentum sustains once the last monopoly fully opens and regulatory scrutiny peaks. Operators that treat the safer gambling and compliance investments as core infrastructure rather than add-ons will hold the advantage.
Reporting: EGBA members’ GGR surges 34% to record €18bn in 2025 (europeangaming.eu)
