European Black Market Gambling Skyrockets to €12 Billion

Europe's unlicensed online gambling market reached a staggering €12 billion in net revenue last year, according to a recent study by Regulus Partners and Helios. This figure represents three times the total from 2019 and accounts for a quarter of all online gambling activity across Europe.

The research assessed 28 European markets and attributed the growth of the unlicensed sector to domestic policy rather than the conduct of illegal operators alone. Filip Jelavić, owner and project lead at Helios, stated that government policies creating consumer friction are responsible for the rise in black market gambling.

Jelavić noted that cryptocurrency has played a central role in this growth, serving both as a point of product differentiation and a regulatory workaround. He also highlighted affiliate businesses as a cost-effective way to recruit players, difficult to enforce against even where laws are in place.