The online gambling sector, commonly referred to as iGaming, is evolving. Despite recent crackdowns on regulation and increasing government oversight, illegal gambling operators are reported to have captured 71% of Europe’s online betting and casino market last year. This means that in 2024 alone Europe missed out on a massive €80.65 billion.
And it’s getting worse. That is a 53% jump in illegal gaming revenue from 2023. As legitimate operators invest heavily in compliance, responsible gaming measures, and transparent operations, illicit platforms continue to exploit gaps in legislation with alarming efficiency.
White authorities across the EU are tightening online gambling regulations, Europe’s approach to regulation remains fragmented, with unlicensed operators exploiting these jurisdictional gaps. This inconsistency creates space for operators to base their activities in countries where enforcement mechanisms are weaker and where oversight bodies lack the resources or authority to effectively combat cross-border activity.
While some Member States push aggressively for reform, others lag behind, resulting in an environment where illicit providers can seamlessly move operations, digital infrastructure, or payment rails when scrutiny intensifies.
These grey-market actors, often using offshore hubs and layer upon layer of opaque corporate structures, pose a significant risk to players. But they also pose an issue for other figures within the industry by contributing to a broader criminal ecosystem.
In addition to these illicit platforms, a string of unregulated operators has emerged, servicing both licensed providers and illegal sites alike. This grey market continues to expand, with a shadowy web of figures and businesses operating across the industry.
There has been a rising trend in recent months of targeted extortion, cyber-enabled blackmail, and ransom attempts against executives and entrepreneurs in iGaming businesses in Europe and around the world. This activity merges tactics from the iGaming sector with those of the criminal underworld to exert maximum pressure.
Established and legitimate providers on gambling and iGaming services are now facing an array of attacks as hostile operators seek to capitalise on lucrative targets, sabotage legitimate competitors, and stake their claim on the industry.
These criminal operators are alleged to have fabricated allegations to increase the pressure on licenced providers, as well as launching personal blackmail campaigns against senior figures. In some cases, this extortion has extended to physical threats and intimidation.
Industry insiders suggest that in many cases these threats are not from random hacker groups, but in many cases are connected to unlicensed operators within the industry, and that the line between grey markets and criminal networks is becoming increasingly blurred.
In recent years, several high-profile incidents have underscored the extent of vulnerability within this sector and the ability of hostile actors to extort both businesses and senior figures in the industry. Notable stories include a DraftKings cyberattack in 2022, the MGM Resort hack in 2023, and the recent Qilin attack on International Game Technology (IGT) in 2025.
Having reported on and investigated several of these incidents firsthand over the past ten years, what should concern us most is not just the scale but also the ability for these operators to retreat into the shadows.
As part of this investigation, we reached out to a variety of businesses across the sector which operate exclusively in the grey market, including representatives from Pagava Holding, Oryntall Payments, Xivaro Global. These businesses all declined to comment on their involvement in the grey market and the trend of increasing criminality in the sector.
For Europe’s online gambling industry to sustain its legitimacy, it must start to expose these bad actors, educate consumers, and regulatory bodies which can operate across borders. This requires coordinated enforcement, improved information-sharing between regulators, and public awareness campaigns spotlighting the risks of unlicensed platforms.
Without additional measures in place, this illegal sector will continue to grow as a proportion of the industry and grow in its criminality, as the stakes become higher. Europe’s challenge now is not only to regulate gambling more effectively, but to confront this growing shadow economy that threatens the sector’s integrity, stability, and long-term future.
John Reynolds is a freelance investigative reporter specialising in the darker edges of gambling, crime, and financial corruption. His work sheds light on the systems and figures driving illicit economies.
