Euromat: Europe’s Illegal Online Gambling Market Triples to €12 Billion, Capturing 25% of the Online Sector

A €12 Billion Unregulated Ecosystem

The most detailed analysis ever conducted of illegal online gambling in Europe has revealed the staggering scale of the unregulated black market. According to the study, the illegal sector will reach €12 billion in net revenue by 2025—a figure that has tripled in size since 2019 and now equates to 25% of the total online gambling market.

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

Filip Jelavić mag.iur., Owner and Project Lead at HELIOS, expanded on the research scope: "The study has analyzed 28 European online gambling markets comprising the EU27 (excluding Malta and Luxembourg), with the additions of the UK, Serbia, and Montenegro. Together with colleagues from Regulus Partners, we have conducted 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."

Government Policies and the Crypto Pull

The findings suggest that the explosive growth of the black market is a direct consequence of domestic regulatory decisions. "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," Jelavić explained. He pointed to a combination of limited choice due to state monopolies, low visibility, price distortions, and interventionist measures—such as affordability checks—that block or inconvenience established consumer behavior.

Furthermore, the research highlights how cryptocurrencies are being used to create powerful black-market gambling brands. Jelavić noted that the rapid growth of crypto has been key to building these businesses, offering product differentiation and regulatory workarounds. With very few European jurisdictions allowing consumers to use cryptocurrencies to gamble legally, a 'push' from crypto consumers and a 'pull' from unregulated ecosystems has emerged. For smaller, "long-tail" sites, affiliate networks provide a cost-effective means of recruiting players that is incredibly difficult for authorities to police.

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

A "Cash Cow" for Organized Crime

For legal operators, the migration of consumer spend represents a significant threat. Jason Frost, President of Euromat, emphasized that the illegal black market is a major concern for anyone who values a progressive and fairly regulated leisure economy.

"According to insight from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Organized 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," Frost stated.

Unregulated operators bypass duties and taxes, enjoying considerably lower overheads that allow them to promote better returns to players, effectively undercutting the legal market. Furthermore, the absence of self-exclusion initiatives like Gamban actively endangers vulnerable players.

"The Euromat commissioned study, which is the most detailed and forensic ever undertaken into the black market, will form the backbone of our engagement program with policymakers and law enforcement agencies across member states," Frost concluded. "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."