รับชม: ยุโรปจะรับมือกับปัญหาการพนันผิดกฎหมายที่กำลังแพร่ระบาดอย่างมีประสิทธิภาพได้อย่างไร?
Illegal gambling is no longer a fringe issue. It is a growing, sophisticated black market that exploits regulatory gaps, targets vulnerable players and undermines licensed operators across Europe. That stark reality framed the discussion at SiGMA Central Europe 2025 in Rome, where industry leaders gathered for a panel titled Tackling the Illegal Gambling Epidemic, powered by EUROMAT.
Moderated by Jenny Ortiz-Bolivar, Asia Lead Senior Journalist at SiGMA Group, the panel featured Kieran O’Keeffe, Secretary General of EUROMAT, Filip Jelavic, Secretary General of the Croatian Gaming Association (CGA) and Matt Zarb-Cousin, Director of blocking-software provider Gamban.
From the outset, the panel discussed how illegal gambling thrives where enforcement fails. “What’s driving illegal gambling is opportunity. There’s a lack of enforcement and an over-focus on already regulated businesses,” O’Keeffe said.
He warned that the issue has reached “existential levels of threat” for the industry, particularly online and urged regulators to make the black market a top priority rather than an afterthought.
Protecting vulnerable players
For Zarb-Cousin, the most troubling aspect of illegal gambling is who it targets. “It’s much more efficient for illegal operators to target people who have already self-excluded. They’re more likely to be addicted and generate higher profits,” he explained.
He pointed to the growing abuse of data, where individuals who sign up for self-exclusion schemes are later targeted with advertising for illegal gambling sites. He added that children are also exposed through skins betting and unregulated casino-style games embedded in gaming ecosystems. “If we were selling drugs or fake designer goods online, we’d have the police at our door,” Zarb-Cousin said. “Why don’t we treat illegal online gambling with the same seriousness?”
What actually works in enforcement?
While tools such as ISP blocking, DNS blocking and payment blocking are often promoted as silver bullets, Jelavic cautioned against relying on any single measure. “It’s not ISP blocking or payment blocking alone, it has to be all the measures working together,” he said.
Drawing on Croatia’s experience, Jelavic explained how criminalisation, technical blocking, and payment restrictions introduced over nearly a decade are only now showing measurable impact. “There will always be players who circumvent the system. This is not a 100% solution,” he acknowledged.
Instead, long-term cooperation between regulators, operators and suppliers is essential, alongside faster approval processes, which can otherwise push players toward illegal sites offering new products instantly.
Technology as both threat and solution
The panel repeatedly returned to technology’s dual role. While illegal operators use advanced tools to reach players, the same innovation can be deployed defensively. Zarb-Cousin highlighted Gamban’s device-level blocking software, which now blocks access to over 360,000 gambling domains, adding hundreds more each day.
“The most important thing is protecting people who are self-excluded,” he said. “If we cut off the black market’s primary customer base, we shrink it dramatically.”
O’Keeffe added that AI-driven domain detection and blocking must become a standard part of regulators’ enforcement toolbox, even if no single solution is foolproof.
Cross-border action
As illegal gambling operates without borders, the panel agreed that enforcement must also be international. Jelavic described regional cooperation in the Balkans, where regulators share intelligence and work collectively against operators targeting multiple jurisdictions.
O’Keeffe pointed to the EU Digital Services Act, arguing that trusted-flagger status and stronger obligations on advertisers and platforms could significantly reduce illegal exposure. “This is about stepping up and getting serious. The tools exist, they’re just not being fully used,” he said.
As the session closed, the panelists delivered a unified message that without serious enforcement against illegal gambling, regulators cannot raise standards in the licensed market or properly protect consumers. The discussion underscored why this issue remains front and centre for policymakers, operators, and suppliers alike and why collaboration across borders, sectors and technologies is no longer optional.
Join the conversation in Rome
Conversations around illegal gambling, regulation and enforcement will continue to shape the future of the industry. Join us again in Rome this November 02-05 for the next SiGMA World summit, where global regulators, operators and technology leaders will come together to tackle the sector’s biggest challenges and define the path forward.
