25% of Europe's online gambling market is already illegal?

[Mr_Brilliant$]

It's already big numbers, and I thought that Europe is really very strict as far as online gambling goes, so I'm wrong with that as the data shows that they are gambling illegally more often?

In any case, there could be gamblers that they didn't know that they are playing illegal sites or just ignore that reasons as they might also wanted to avoid legal casinos for tax purposed. But the former could be really be hard for gamblers specially if they win big and then the casino refuse to pay.

So there is still this big burden so we might as well go with legal methods and pay what is due instead of our money being stolen by this fly by night online casinos.

Strict rules won't stop anybody from betting in illegal sites. You should wonder why despite the strict rules and regulations, people still decided to go and bet in those platforms that have no players protection. It could be there is something that those sites are offering that the regulated once are not offering. I think the regulated casinos can learn one or two from them and add it to their own. And for the tax part, I don't think they are avoiding tax. I mean if they did, that's unlawful by law and could lead to some serious problems.

[Findingnemo]

Illegal ≠ Scam, yes you read that right. Illegal means anything that doesn't follow your government's rules but still runs completely fine with no issues. Today a casino can be legal and overnight the government made a change in the rules making every casino as illegal and has to comply to the new procedure if they want to operate legally.

That is why we often see unregulated gambling market in every part of the world which is still running.

[Nwada001]

This could be as a result of high expectations and requirements demanded by the European authorities for casinos to legalise. If not, the number should not have been that high. Another thing could be taxation and players trying to avoid their government putting an eye on how their money is moving.

Even if they all try to have a friendly gambling environment where the casinos can easily legalise, most players will still prefer to be playing in offshore casinos.

[yahoo62278]

This is surprising because its quite big, and we are talking about €12 billion in 2025. That was already in 2025 so probably it has already increased now.. but lets just look at that 25% number and try to analyze what could be the reason.

Heres what I think.

People still trust illegal casinos, not literally illegal but casinos licensed somewhere else, because their withdrawal process is usually easier, not too many KYC requirements just like some popular casinos here in the forum.

So imagine how much the government is also losing from that 25%, because if those players are using regulated casinos then probably they could collect millions or even billions in taxes, though im not sure how much their tax rate is.

What are your thoughts on this?


source https://europeangaming.eu/portal/latest-news/2026/09/16/214175/europe-illegal-online-gambling-market-12bn-euromat-study/

I think the governments take enough from the people honestly but who wants to operate a casino and always look over their back waiting on the taxman to come knocking? Maybe these casinos feel like the risk is worth it? How much money has any 1 casino put in their pocket, does anyone know? What happens if they get caught? Most likely shutdown with a fine. If the fine and tax bill is significantly less than what they have pocketed, then the operators of these casinos are going to continue to operate.

I play at a few casinos and feel like my money is safe, that's all I am worried about. Some have KYC, some don't. If I can play at a casino I deem trusted and cashout, I have no problem with it.

[EluguHcman]

People still trust illegal casinos, not literally illegal but casinos licensed somewhere else, because their withdrawal process is usually easier, not too many KYC requirements just like some popular casinos here in the forum.

I seriously have phobias for offshore casino these days with all those news about such casinos shutting down and living users go blank without a trace.
I also think that anyone that likes the offshore casino because of the withdrawal access may be hiding for KYC with the suspensions of executing illegal transactions through the platform.

This has also drawn so much concerns to the authorities where the casinos is being launched and as long they are being operated illegally can stop them to function.
Such situated casinos can as well take customers unexpectedly and requests users data(s) that users never expected. And failure to comply could deny you that same access of withdrawal.

[alani123]

I really do wish Europe does something to crack down on illegal gambling in a more serious way but I also hope they with the licenses they try to enforce there will be more oversight over randomness and provable fairness.

Right now there's a huge amount of dark patterns and deceptive practiced even on legal casinos. One would look at the soft2bet scandal in Europe and the recent revelations to understand how lucrative this business can be.

[tabas]

There's big money that's coming out of the pocket of the government due to their strict ruling of obtaining licenses. I think that if they're serious with tackling down illegal casinos, they need to look on how many from them are willing to comply and be registered. Because that's really the meaning of illegal to them as being unlicensed. But if they're going to help instead of cracking them down, then both gets the benefit from the business. But if none or only one of them are willing to cooperate then that shows why there are a lot of these illegal ones continue to exist.

[Miles2006]

After I read the thread, curious to know if the government had a complain about scam from an illegal casino or not? For a fact these illegal casino operate under the license of another power not the government, what makes it illegal is the fact they’re trying to bypass the government policy. If no scam recorded so far then I’m afraid this trend of illegal casinos will last longer except the government finds a way to resolve this issue, we all can agree fishing out illegal casinos is difficult. Operating an illegal casino is not appropriate, most country do arrest people involve in this act while gamblers don’t care if a casino is approve or not so long as there’s no bad review although this is very risky because anything can happen at any time.

[CryptoBuds]

I play at a few casinos and feel like my money is safe, that's all I am worried about. Some have KYC, some don't. If I can play at a casino I deem trusted and cashout, I have no problem with it.

Just because I have successfully cashed out from any casino few time, I do not assume that my money will be safe in future. And value of regulation is not just about collecting tax. Having good license ensure that mechanism such complaint procedure, responsible gambling rule, dispute resolution, AML & KYC obligation and regulator's enforcement power serve as safeguard for us. Offshore sites can compensate for some of these. But in that case we have to conduct lot more due diligence ourselve.

TBH, I wouldn't assume either legal is safe or offshore is scam. Instead I would look at operator's ownership, licensing jurisdiction, withdrawal history, dispute resolution process and how they behave when there is any big win.

[Davidvictorson]

This is surprising because its quite big, and we are talking about €12 billion in 2025. That was already in 2025 so probably it has already increased now.. but lets just look at that 25% number and try to analyze what could be the reason.

Heres what I think.

People still trust illegal casinos, not literally illegal but casinos licensed somewhere else, because their withdrawal process is usually easier, not too many KYC requirements just like some popular casinos here in the forum.

So imagine how much the government is also losing from that 25%, because if those players are using regulated casinos then probably they could collect millions or even billions in taxes, though im not sure how much their tax rate is.

What are your thoughts on this?

The question I would ask is who should we blame the casinos that have made it easier for people who do not want their details taken or the government?
Also, what can the government do about this? Is there an alternative to KYC that will make players. It feel like their details are being collected?

[Dogedegen]

This is surprising because its quite big, and we are talking about €12 billion in 2025. That was already in 2025 so probably it has already increased now.. but lets just look at that 25% number and try to analyze what could be the reason.

Heres what I think.

People still trust illegal casinos, not literally illegal but casinos licensed somewhere else, because their withdrawal process is usually easier, not too many KYC requirements just like some popular casinos here in the forum.

So imagine how much the government is also losing from that 25%, because if those players are using regulated casinos then probably they could collect millions or even billions in taxes, though im not sure how much their tax rate is.

What are your thoughts on this?


source https://europeangaming.eu/portal/latest-news/2026/09/16/214175/europe-illegal-online-gambling-market-12bn-euromat-study/

That is a huge data point! I expected that in places like Europe with much tighter regulations, punishments and fines that this would be much lower. This kind of outcome shows us that the current laws and regulations do not work well, but we can't be quick to conclude that it is because one thing or another. The article mentions this but I would not be so sure about that:

‘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.

To be able to know this we must conduct a large scale survey on people who are actually playing on illegal platforms and ask them directly why they are doing it. Even better would be for one group of the questions to be focused on people who do this but do not play on any legal platform at all. That way we would know their reasons. Unfortunately I am afraid that Europe might not learn their lessons from this and that they could try to become even stricter with rules, KYC, and punishments. That is unfortunately what happens often if a government tries to control its people without understanding them.

[danadc]

The answer is they are not forced to get a license because they are still getting clients from the European market. By "unlicensed or illegal casinos" they are referring to casinos that do not have a license in Europe, but they could have a license elsewhere like Malta, or some do not really have a license at all.

Licenses are important, yes, very good if they're up to date, but the problem with licenses is that they don't prevent scams. A casino can have everything in order, but if they end up being scammed, it's something that gets out of hand. That doesn't make sense. There are honest casinos that aren't accepted because they don't have licenses. In Malta, they require licenses, so why aren't they accepted? And are they seen as illegal? There are high-profile cases that I can't understand because of the bureaucracy.

[Natalim]

Licenses are important, yes, very good if they're up to date, but the problem with licenses is that they don't prevent scams.

Prevent > no.  Minimize >yes.
That's the realistic purpose of it.

A casino can have everything in order, but if they end up being scammed, it's something that gets out of hand. That doesn't make sense. There are honest casinos that aren't accepted because they don't have licenses.

Regulators does not care if a casino is honest, because if they don't have  a license, they are risky to use. And how long will they be honest?
It's to argue this on them as they are regulators, all they think is license and they will implement the rules. in short they are just doing their job, their decision is based on papers they see.

In Malta, they require licenses, so why aren't they accepted? And are they seen as illegal? There are high-profile cases that I can't understand because of the bureaucracy.

Yes illegal because we are talking about Europe license. you operate in this country with Malta license, you are considered Illegal.

[eisen33]

This is surprising because its quite big, and we are talking about €12 billion in 2025. That was already in 2025 so probably it has already increased now.. but lets just look at that 25% number and try to analyze what could be the reason.

Heres what I think.

People still trust illegal casinos, not literally illegal but casinos licensed somewhere else, because their withdrawal process is usually easier, not too many KYC requirements just like some popular casinos here in the forum.

So imagine how much the government is also losing from that 25%, because if those players are using regulated casinos then probably they could collect millions or even billions in taxes, though im not sure how much their tax rate is.

What are your thoughts on this?

I think the government already collects plenty of taxes anyway. And in some countries, those taxes don’t necessarily go toward improving things or benefiting the people who live there. So I’m not too concerned about a government missing out on a little bit of tax revenue somewhere. If I’m playing at a casino, I simply want to play anonymously and I don’t want the casino to take any taxes from my winnings, that’s all I care about.

[adultcrypto]

This is huge data because 25% of the market is not a small number. If this include land-based casinos and other physical casinos such as the elite club of Monaco, then it means a good percentage of online casino market preferred casinos that do not have Offices or registraton in Europe. This result may not be different from that of Africa is proper statistics is taken because majority of the online casinos where I do my active gambling do not have registration in my country, and therefore operating as illegal under this context. I don't feel discouraged by this because I have confidence in a lot of them that I will be able to smoothly use the casinos without any hassle.

[Zlantann]

I think the government already collects plenty of taxes anyway. And in some countries, those taxes don’t necessarily go toward improving things or benefiting the people who live there. So I’m not too concerned about a government missing out on a little bit of tax revenue somewhere. If I’m playing at a casino, I simply want to play anonymously and I don’t want the casino to take any taxes from my winnings, that’s all I care about.

European countries have responsible government than some developing nations. So the tax would be well maximized and used for the good of citizens. If you don't want the government to collect tax, do you prefer that these funds are retained by illegal gambling platforms. Another problem is that these illegal casinos can take advantage of the people since they are not regulated. Users can be denied their wins because the government are not regulating the activities of these unregistered gambling platforms.

[Agbamoni]

Supporting unregulated casinos to stop service is like advocating for the government. Meanwhile, the government of my country doesn't care about us, the people, so why do I care about them?

This is the right answer to your question and I'm sure others would be able to relate to this as well. 
Me personally, I feel convenient using casinos registered locally because I'm able to use fiat ( online payment method ) for gambling and the withdrawals are instant. 

But with the news I read especially the latest that there's a big winner who won millions but the casino says it's a glitch, imagine how bad cheaters they are. 

So me I'm anti government for the gambling side only

If there is an unregulated casino that allows frequent deposits and withdrawals without interruption, I will use it. All the taxes I've been paying what good has it done for me?

you must really hate your government. 

When I was smiling, I also heard of someone who won big in betting, but the sportsbook told him to wait a long time to get his money. After months, they never wanted to pay him again. This is a general problem with local sportsbooks and casinos.

I despise the government in my country. Government that can't provide the bare minimum. They see the bare minimum as a luxury for its citizens. Most citizen have to take it upon their shoulders to ensure the basic things that the government is supposed to do are done willingly. If there is a way to cut ties with anything linking me to the government, I will do so.

[Emitdama]

I play at a few casinos and feel like my money is safe, that's all I am worried about. Some have KYC, some don't. If I can play at a casino I deem trusted and cashout, I have no problem with it.

Just because I have successfully cashed out from any casino few time, I do not assume that my money will be safe in future. And value of regulation is not just about collecting tax. Having good license ensure that mechanism such complaint procedure, responsible gambling rule, dispute resolution, AML & KYC obligation and regulator's enforcement power serve as safeguard for us. Offshore sites can compensate for some of these. But in that case we have to conduct lot more due diligence ourselve.

TBH, I wouldn't assume either legal is safe or offshore is scam. Instead I would look at operator's ownership, licensing jurisdiction, withdrawal history, dispute resolution process and how they behave when there is any big win.

If someone is playing on casino and able to cashout without any problem, it's all legal and trusted but if you are getting your funds on platform locked and then they are not giving any valid reason as you want surely it's going to be illegal and untrusted, I never have funds on any exchange or casino because I never trust on them for keeping my money even for few hours, just enjoying and having my withdrawal mean all is okay.

Governments are doing more then their potential just because of this mostly are not able to go as they needed and it's always chaos because they have expenses and also needed to be done their own things which are also needed enough funds mostly governments are demanding more which is not looking possible just because of this always have second which called illegal.

[Queen uloma]

It's already big numbers, and I thought that Europe is really very strict as far as online gambling goes, so I'm wrong with that as the data shows that they are gambling illegally more often?

In any case, there could be gamblers that they didn't know that they are playing illegal sites or just ignore that reasons as they might also wanted to avoid legal casinos for tax purposed. But the former could be really be hard for gamblers specially if they win big and then the casino refuse to pay.

So there is still this big burden so we might as well go with legal methods and pay what is due instead of our money being stolen by this fly by night online casinos.

Strict rules won't stop anybody from betting in illegal sites. You should wonder why despite the strict rules and regulations, people still decided to go and bet in those platforms that have no players protection. It could be there is something that those sites are offering that the regulated once are not offering. I think the regulated casinos can learn one or two from them and add it to their own. And for the tax part, I don't think they are avoiding tax. I mean if they did, that's unlawful by law and could lead to some serious problems.

I agree that strict rules alone can’t stop everyone from engaging in illegal betting sites. If people still go there irrespective of the risks involve, it simply means that those platforms offer something that regulated ones ain’t offering.

 Rather than only making rules stricter, regulated casinos can study what attracts people to those sites and improve their own services. As for tax, if any platform always avoid tax, it’s against the law and it can lead to a serious consequence.

[Mayor of ogba]

Any thing that the government doesn't approval is seen as illegal. The 25% of Europe's online gambling sites that is seen as illegal by the government aren't completely illegal maybe it could be that they failed to afford compliance or they invaded paying tax for years that made the government to declare them illegally. But this doesn't stop gamblers not to gamble in those gambling sites that are illegal because most gamblers doesn't even know we have legal and illegal casinos they are just concerned how they will get money for them to gamble on any gambling site they feel like gambling.