GCI Says Illegal Online Gambling Took 75% of the EU Market, with EUR 91.6 billion in Unregulated GGR in 2025

Gaming Compliance International’s latest report says unregulated online gambling generated EUR 91.6 billion in gross gambling revenue (GGR) across the 27 EU member states in 2025, or 72% of total online GGR. For PSPs, acquirers, and risk teams, the number that matters is not just the size of the illegal market, but how much of it is already flowing through search, affiliates, social, streaming, and apps before anyone ever reaches a gambling site.

1. According to the study, commissioned by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, unregulated online gambling in the European Union generated over EUR 90 billion, about $103 billion, in GGR last year. That was almost 75% of the region’s EUR 128 billion, or $146 billion, online gambling market.
2. The report says unregulated GGR across the 27 EU member states rose 74%, from EUR 52.6 billion, or $60.4 billion, in 2023 to EUR 91.6 billion, or $105.2 billion, in 2025. Over the same period, unregulated gambling’s share of total online GGR increased from 67% to 72%.
3. GCI estimated that about EUR 22 billion, or $25.3 billion, in GGR-related tax revenue was lost to unregulated operators in 2025. It also identified 6,238 unregulated online gambling operators and 17,501 affiliates actively targeting consumers across EU member states.
4. The consumer exposure numbers are even broader: 121 million Europeans were exposed to online gambling content, and 88 million consumers accessed content through unregulated operators. Among consumers who actively interacted with online gambling content, 91% of the content they encountered promoted the unregulated sector.
5. The report also points to illegal sports streams as a distribution channel. During the FIFA World Cup, 95% of qualifying illegal sports streams viewed in Europe featured advertising for gambling operators that were not licensed in the relevant jurisdictions. GCI says enforcement should go beyond takedowns of individual websites and instead target the wider ecosystem, including infrastructure and services that support unregulated operators.

GCI president Ismail Vali said unregulated gambling is capturing audience attention across search, social media, affiliate networks, advertising, streaming services and apps before consumers reach a gambling website. GCI, which bought Yeald Sec last year, is calling for cross-border coordination and broader monitoring of the market, including both regulated and unregulated activity.