Online Casino

The European Casino Association (ECA) calls on the EU institutions to fight online illegal gambling operators in synergies with the Member States.

The issue

With the Covid 19 crisis and its many health measures, the successive lockdowns put in place in most European countries have allowed an accelerated development of online gaming. Since then, more than half of the ECA members have taken advantage of this opportunity to provide their services both in their land-based casinos and online.As such, the ECA members apply to their online casinos (see Annex 2) the same level of security and safety as their land-based casinos, drawing on the industry’s decades of business experience, and in compliance with the national laws regulating the sector.

Gradually, some European states have begun to legalise online casino games. In many countries, however, numerous online platforms were already and continue to operate illegally (see Annex 3), without licenses, without taxation, without responsible gaming policies, and without any tools to fight money laundering and terrorist financing. A recent study by Yield Sec, commissioned by the ECA, reveals that, during the first half of 2024, approximately 70% of online gaming revenue in EU Member States, around €32 billion, was generated by illegal operators without the necessary gaming licenses.