The European Gaming and Betting Association’s (EGBA) 2024 Sustainability Report featured a call from the CEOs for a more considered approach to controls on licensed operators.

After a period in which countries such as the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Sweden have tightened how and where licensees can promote their offerings and stake limits in Great Britain and Germany change the core gambling products, illegal gambling is on the rise, they say.

The signatories represent the continent’s largest gambling operators: Peter Jackson at Flutter Entertainment; Niels Andén from Kindred Group; Evoke’s Per Widerström; Betsson’s Jesper Svensson; Bet365 joint-group CEO John Coates and Entain Grup interim CEO Stella David.

“Our ongoing development of cutting-edge safety tools has led to nearly 40% of our European players now using these tools on a voluntary basis,” they write to highlight their RG credentials. “Additionally, we are interacting with our players more than ever to promote safer play and continually refining our approach.”

Offshore competition eats into legal market

However the CEOs say they are increasingly competing against the offshore market, where player safety is at best a secondary concern, at worst ignored entirely. Regulatory frameworks in European countries are exacerbating the issue, they argue.

“Why? Because severe restrictions in these countries prevent an attractive and competitive offer to players that steers them toward safer, locally regulated websites.”

The offshore brands can attract players with bonuses and offers that legal operators cannot afford to match, ultimately channeling players away from the legal market.

“The time to act is now,” the letter read. “While we strongly support enforcement measures against black market websites, competitive, regulated online gambling markets are the only effective solution.”

Europe overregulation causing black market trouble

The EGBA report comes just days after France’s  l’Association Française des Jeux En Ligne (AFJEL) estimated the country’s illegal market overtook the legal. There were four million illegal players in France during 2023 it said, outnumbering a legal market of 3.6 million bettors.

In Germany, meanwhile, a 2023 report from the University of Leipzig estimated the channelisation rate in Germany was just 50.7% to legal online operators. The study approximated three-quarters of online revenue was being generated by the black market, meaning the country is missing out on hundreds of millions in tax revenue.

The German Sports Betting Association (DSWV) has called for regulations to be eased, such as restrictions on marketing and bans on live betting.

Legal Europe market showing safer gambling progress

Despite the black market concerns, EGBA’s report also focused on the legal market and its progress on responsible gambling. The report found a record 65% of European gamblers used safer gambling tools in 2023, up from 60% in 2022, with 37% of all customers doing so voluntarily. 21 million bettors used tools to limit or control their gambling, a 14% yearly increase.

The rise in usage was largely down to an increase in messages sent to customers. In total, 67.6 million messages were sent to players, a 49% year-on-year increase from 2022’s figure of 45.5 million. Over a third (23 million) of these were personalised to bettors based on their play.

The tools had an impact, too. 65% of customers at risk of problematic play saw their gambling improve or stabilise as a result of safety messages. 45% improved the sustainability of their play, while 20% either stabilised their play or halted it altogether.