Euromat research shows value of Europe’s illegal online gambling market has tripled in six years to €12bn

The European illegal market is now equal to 25 per cent of the online sector and growing

The most detailed analysis ever conducted of illegal online gambling in Europe has demonstrated the size of the unregulated ‘black- market’ which it calculates was worth €12bn in net revenue in 2025 – a figure which has tripled in size since 2019 and is now equal to 25 per cent of the total online gambling sector. 

Commissioned by Euromat, the voice of the land-based gaming entertainment industry in Europe. and undertaken by Regulus Partners and Helios – a digital research consultancy specialising in gambling web traffic – the study is the result of over 1,000 person hours of forensic analysis using a robust methodology which quantifies digital marketing and web traffic set against the backdrop of macro data and socio/political developments notably the impact of country specific regulatory interventions.

Expanding on the research Filip Jelavić mag.iur., Owner and Project Lead at HELIOS explained: “The study has analysed 28 European online gambling markets comprising EU27, excluding Malta and Luxembourg, with the additions of the UK, Serbia and Montenegro. Together with colleagues from Regulus Partners we have conducted what is a forensic data-led analysis on behalf of Euromat to identify the size, growth trends, characteristics and key causes that have led to the exponential growth of the black-market ecosystem.

“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. 

“Fundamentally, any significant movement of discretionary spend from legal into illegal markets has profound implications for governments in terms of tax revenues, for the individual in terms of player protection undertakings as well as for regulated online and land-based leisure and entertainment brands in terms of the migration of consumer spend.”

He added: “Our research has shown that the most powerful black-market operators are now large enough to have created recognisable brands with large market share. The traffic analysis that we’ve undertaken shows that the rapid growth of crypto currencies has been key to building many of these businesses in terms of product differentiation and regulatory workarounds. Furthermore, very few European online gambling jurisdictions have established a working solution for allowing consumers to use cryptocurrencies to gamble legally, creating both a ‘push’ from crypto consumers as well as a ‘pull’ from crypto ecosystems avoiding scrutiny.  For the ‘long-tail’ of sites, affiliate businesses provide a cost-effective means of recruiting players that is very difficult to enforce against even when laws are in place.”

“Consumer protection policies are key but become counter-productive if they succeed in driving players into the black-market. The more engaged and higher value customers who seek black markets out are often the most vulnerable to harm or exploitation.”

Explaining the value of the study and how it will be used, Jason Frost, President of Euromat, said: “The illegal black market is a major concern for everybody who recognises the importance of a progressive and fairly regulated leisure and entertainment economy – whether it’s land-based or online.“

“According to insight from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Organised Crime Groups treat illegal gambling as a ‘cash cow’ with the profits providing ready-to-use liquidity to reinvest into high-risk, high-reward criminal enterprises such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, and firearms smuggling.”

“Euromat members uphold the highest levels of integrity and play a key role in terms of delivering value for money entertainment to tens of millions of consumers across Europe.  Unregulated black-market operators do not pay duties and taxes and with considerably lower overheads are able to promote better returns driving the migration from legal markets. Furthermore, the absence of exclusion initiatives such as Gamban serve to target vulnerable players.”

He argued: “The Euromat commissioned study, which is the most detailed and forensic ever undertaken into the black-market, will form the backbone of our engagement programme with policy makers and law enforcement agencies across member states. We uphold the importance of supporting healthy and sensibly regulated markets in which businesses contribute to the economy, provide rewarding career and job opportunities, support local supply chains and are socially responsible.”