Euromat Estimates Europe’s Illegal Gambling Market at €12bn

Two industry-funded studies have reached strikingly different conclusions about the size of Europe’s illegal online gambling market, highlighting the challenges involved in assessing activity that takes place beyond regulated gambling systems.

Research commissioned by Euromat estimates that Europe’s illegal gambling market generated €12bn (US$13.94bn) in net revenue in 2025. According to the study, the market has tripled in value since 2019 and accounted for roughly 25% of Europe’s online gambling sector.

The research was conducted by Regulus Partners and digital research consultancy Helios, which examined web traffic, online marketing activity and regulatory developments across 28 markets. The analysis covered 25 EU member states, with Malta and Luxembourg excluded, as well as the UK, Serbia and Montenegro.

The findings are substantially different from figures released by the European Casino Association (ECA) in July. Its research put illegal operators’ gross gaming revenue across the EU27 at €91.6bn in 2025, representing a 14% increase from €80.6bn in 2024.

That leaves a difference of €79.6bn between the two estimates, even though the Euromat study covers the UK and two additional European markets that are outside the EU27.

The disparity cannot be explained simply by geographic differences. The studies were commissioned by different industry organisations, conducted by different research providers and use different terminology and methodologies. Euromat’s figure refers to net revenue, whereas the ECA reports gross gaming revenue. However, the publicly available summaries of the two studies do not contain enough methodological detail to explain a gap of such a significant scale.

Euromat’s analysis identified illegal gambling activity in every market included in the research. In some jurisdictions, unlicensed operators were estimated to account for as much as 80% of online gambling activity. France was singled out as the largest illegal gambling market in Europe.

The study also found that the 25 largest unlicensed operators accounted for approximately 64% of relevant web traffic. Cryptocurrency payments and affiliate marketing were highlighted as two important factors contributing to the expansion of the illegal sector.

According to the researchers, higher levels of activity in the unlicensed market were associated with regulatory conditions including state monopolies, restrictions on available gambling products, taxation and advertising limitations. The markets specifically cited included Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain.

Filip Jelavić, owner and project lead at Helios, argued that regulatory policies can influence consumers’ decisions to use unlicensed gambling websites. He said: “policies creating limited choice, price distortion and inconvenience for consumers could encourage migration towards unlicensed operators.”

Jason Frost, president of Euromat, also stressed the scale of the threat posed by unlicensed gambling. He 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.”

Frost argued that unlicensed operators have a financial advantage over regulated businesses because they do not face the same duties, taxes and compliance expenses. He also warned that players using such operators may face greater risks because they are not protected by measures such as self-exclusion.

Euromat represents Europe’s land-based gaming and amusement industry, while the ECA speaks for licensed casino operators. Both organisations have commercial and regulatory interests in highlighting the competitive pressure posed by unlicensed gambling businesses.

The substantial gap between the two studies ultimately illustrates the difficulty of measuring Europe’s black-market gambling sector. Before estimates of this kind can be used confidently to inform regulatory decisions or taxation policy, greater transparency is needed regarding the definitions used, the underlying datasets and the methods by which the figures are calculated. 

By fLEXI tEAM