Europe Tightens the Net on Illegal Gambling, and Payment Companies Are in the Frame Next

The European Casino Association (ECA) has presented new numbers in the European Parliament showing how large Europe’s illegal online gambling market has become. For PSPs and acquirers serving gaming merchants, the point is not just the size of the black market — it is that payment chains are increasingly being pulled into the enforcement conversation.

1. The ECA says the illegal online gambling market in the EU reached €91.6 billion in 2025, up 14% year on year. According to the same data, EU countries missed out on about €22.9 billion in tax revenue.
2. More than 6,200 illegal operators are still active with European players. The pressure point is not abstract: during the European football championship, illegal operators took €300–400 million in bets in Germany alone.
3. The sharpest problems are in Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden. In Sweden, the share of players using licensed platforms fell to 84%, which is the kind of number regulators and payment teams do not ignore for long.
4. Against this backdrop, the EU is discussing expanding Europol’s powers so the fight against unlicensed gambling becomes part of its permanent work. If adopted, investigations would move beyond individual member states and into an EU-wide framework.
5. For payment companies, the practical takeaway is that due diligence on gaming merchants is moving from internal risk policy toward formal scrutiny. Over the next 12–18 months, EU countries are likely to align their requirements for client checks in the gambling sector, including verification of licence provenance, ownership structure, business model, and source of funds.

For high-risk PSPs, this is the familiar pattern: first the regulator focuses on the operator, then the payment layer becomes part of the case file. In Europe, serving gambling merchants is increasingly not just a commercial decision, but something that can attract law-enforcement and regulatory attention across the European Union.