Euromat's Frost warns over-regulation pushes players to illegal market

Speaking to Yogonet in an interview dated 21 October, Euromat President Jason Frost argued that licensed operators face too many rules, which pushes players toward unregulated platforms. On those sites, he said, measures like caps on stakes, the option to bar oneself and the safeguarding of player money are frequently missing. Frost noted that Euromat released a study the previous month estimating Europe's illegal online gambling market at €12bn.

Frost said the most important finding in the research is that players do not have the same level of protection on unregulated sites as on regulated ones. He attributed the migration to over-regulation through operator taxation, advertising bans and measures such as affordability checks, which he said leave the regulated sector unable to compete and make the player journey more cumbersome. He also said the approach reduces the tax yield from the regulated gambling sector.

Asked what changed between 2019 and 2025, Frost pointed to the Covid-19 shutdowns across Europe, saying players did not stop playing when their options were restricted and instead found alternatives online. He said illegal sites, which do not pay the taxes and licence fees required of the licensed sector, were able to offer higher returns to players and larger bonuses.

Frost said France has experienced the biggest growth in illegal gambling, closely followed by Germany, where he said regulatory control has resulted in many land-based closures that served as a catalyst for players moving to the illegal market. In the Netherlands, he said excessive taxation has resulted in the closure of many businesses, and he cited KSA Chairman Michel Groothuizen as saying that "Financially driven measures such as a gambling tax are contrary to the policy objective of providing players with more protection."

On cryptocurrency, Frost said crypto casinos provide players with total anonymity and that governments have not been able or willing to address this. Asked about the biggest weakness in the European approach to blocking illegal operators, he said he doubts governments possess the political will or full commitment to tackle the issue, and that it is easier for them to add regulatory requirements on the regulated sector. He said Euromat meets regularly with Interpol and shares its research findings with governments, regulators, the European Union and law enforcement agencies.

Frost said he expects growth in the illegal market to continue and that before long the biggest market will be the illegal one, with consequences for player protection, tax yields and businesses rooted in their communities. He called for a joined-up response from all parties, in particular governments.