Illegal Online Gambling Costs EU States €22.9bn in Lost Tax Revenue
#BettingLegislation #GamingInEurope
Efforts to curb unlicensed gambling operations across Europe have accelerated significantly as EU institutions face mounting pressure to close critical cross-border enforcement gaps. The European Casino Association (ECA) confirmed on 3 July 2026 that unlicensed platforms deprived European Union member states of an estimated €22.9 billion in tax revenue due to illegal online gambling throughout the 2025 financial year. This alarming figure reflects data presented during a high-level roundtable at the European Parliament. The strategic session, hosted by MEP Lukas Mandl under the strict Chatham House Rule, brought together European lawmakers, representatives from the European Commission, the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA), Eurojust, and the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on Europol alongside national gambling regulators in different jurisdictions and prominent sector representatives.
ECA chair Erwin van Lambaart utilized the parliamentary session to introduce detailed statistics from the latest market impact study, which the association commissions annually from Gambling Compliance International (GCI). According to the comprehensive 2025 GCI report, the vast black market actively targeting European consumers generated approximately €91.6 billion last year, representing a substantial 14% increase compared to 2024 performance levels. The data further revealed that illegal operators now generate the clear majority of online gambling revenue within the EU-27 territory, with more than 6,200 completely unlicensed platforms directly targeting consumers. Analysts also noted that most digital gambling advertising reaching European users currently promotes these unapproved networks. In response, the ECA emphasized its strict binary regulatory stance within the EU-27 market, clarifying that an operator is either fully licensed locally or entirely illegal, with no recognized grey area.
The legislative discussion coincided directly with a major European Commission proposal tabled on 24 June 2026, which aims to thoroughly expand Europol’s operational mandate. This upcoming reform is designed to provide the law enforcement agency with an active role in coordinating operational measures against complex cross-border crimes, explicitly including illicit betting. Mandl connected the legislative push directly to the market data, stating that unregulated gambling represents an escalating cross-border threat affecting consumer safety, organized crime syndicates, and internal market stability. Van Lambaart underscored the urgency, noting that these offshore operations regularly reach players without basic safeguards, regulatory oversight, or financial contributions to public funds. He explicitly called for tighter cooperation between the Commission, Europol, and AMLA to transform raw compliance data into immediate enforcement actions. The Commission's structural proposal is currently moving through the standard ordinary legislative procedure, requiring formal approval from both the European Parliament and the Council before taking effect.
