Euromat Research Reveals Europe’s Illegal Online Gambling Market Tripled to €12bn Since 2019
Euromat-commissioned research estimates Europe’s illegal online gambling market hit €12bn net revenue in 2025, tripling since 2019 to equal 25% of the sector. The 1,000-hour study across 28 markets attributes growth to regulatory friction, limited choice and crypto adoption. Implications include lost tax revenue and weakened player protections.
SCCG Take — Regulatory friction drives migration to black markets, requiring policymakers to weigh consumer safeguards against market access and enforcement realities.
The most detailed analysis of illegal online gambling in Europe estimates the unregulated black market generated €12bn in net revenue in 2025. This figure has tripled since 2019 and equals 25 per cent of the total online gambling sector.
The study was commissioned by Euromat and undertaken by Regulus Partners and Helios. As reported by G3 Newswire, it involved over 1,000 person hours of forensic analysis of digital marketing, web traffic, macro data and regulatory interventions across 28 European markets comprising the EU27 excluding Malta and Luxembourg, with the UK, Serbia and Montenegro added.
Drivers of Black Market Growth
Filip Jelavić mag.iur., Owner and Project Lead at HELIOS, said: “It’s clear that online gambling black markets don’t happen by accident but instead are the result of government policies that create consumer friction. In such an environment the key drivers are a combination of limited choice based on regulation and state monopolies, low visibility, distortions of price or value, as well as interventionist measures such as affordability checks – which block or inconvenience established consumer behaviour.”
Jelavić noted that leading black-market operators have built recognisable brands with significant share. Rapid growth of crypto currencies has enabled product differentiation and regulatory workarounds, while few jurisdictions permit legal crypto gambling. Affiliate networks further support recruitment in ways difficult to enforce.
Euromat Position and Policy Engagement
Jason Frost, President of Euromat, said the illegal black market is a major concern for a progressive and fairly regulated leisure and entertainment economy. He cited United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime findings that organised crime groups treat illegal gambling as a “cash cow” to fund drug trafficking, human trafficking and firearms smuggling.
Frost argued that unregulated operators avoid taxes and player protections such as exclusion initiatives, targeting vulnerable players. The study will support Euromat’s engagement with policymakers and law enforcement to promote markets that contribute to economies, jobs and social responsibility.
Reporting: G3 Newswire
Generated by SCCG’s automated editorial system from published source reporting. SCCG Management holds editorial responsibility.
Regulatory overreach is feeding black markets: friction, affordability checks and crypto bans are pushing players into unregulated channels.
We've watched this pattern play out across 30-plus regulated markets — when governments add too much friction, players find workarounds. €12bn in lost tax revenue and zero player protection isn't policy success, it's market failure. SCCG helps operators and regulators design frameworks that keep players inside the fence, not outside it.
- Illegal market tripled since 2019; 1,000-hour study across 28 European markets
- Drivers: regulatory friction, affordability checks, state monopolies, limited legal crypto options
- Organized crime capitalizes; lost tax revenue and player protections at stake
SCCG angle: SCCG connects operators and regulators with the compliance architects, payment innovators and policy advisors who've cracked balanced frameworks in mature markets. We help you design consumer-friendly regulation that competes with the black market instead of feeding it.
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