Financial Worries Ahead for Europe’s Gambling Industries

The UK gambling industry continues to be posting impressive financial figures. However, there has been stricter regulation put in place this year. There are also possible storm clouds on the horizon that could cause more financial problems for the industry. Stricter regulation is also taking place throughout Europe.

It is the online sector of the UK gambling industry that has seen great growth in recent years. The days when you had to go to  your local bookies to place your bets are long gone. Players can now go online on a 24/7 basis and place bets on sporting events and play online slots and other casino games.

Recently published figures from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) for the period April 2023 to March 2024 revealed that the Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) for licensed online sites was £6.9 billion. Of this amount, £4.4 billion came from online casino games with slots accounting for £3.6 billion. 

GGY for online bets on football was £1.1 billion and £771.1 million for horse racing. When the reporting period came to a close, the amount held in customer accounts totalled £896.3 million. Can these impressive results continue throughout 2025 is the big question.

One problem that has hit the industry this year has been the introduction of maximum stake limits for online slot games. There wasn’t previously one in place and players were able to lose large amounts of money in a very short amount of time.

There have long been calls for action to be taken just occurred with the fixed odds machines seen in High Street bookmakers. A fair share of the concern has been aimed towards young gamblers who enjoy playing online slots and subsequently suffer gambling harm. As a result, new measures this April and May have seen a maximum stake of £2 per spin introduced for players aged between 18 and 24. Older players now cannot stake more than £5 on a single spin.

With online slots producing so much GGY for the UK gambling industry, it will be interesting indeed to see how the new measures will affect the financial figures. It is this kind of measure that is concerning the licensed industry. Their fear is that disgruntled site members will opt to move to the unlicensed and unregulated black market.

Huge amounts are already being lost to the unlicensed sites. In 2024, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) published a study that revealed 1.5 million British gamblers had staked nearly £4.3 billion on the illegal market. 

Levels of customer protection are much lower on the black market. They also do not pay taxes to the Treasury and that is something that may become even more important later in the year when the Autumn Budget is delivered.

The CEO of the BGC is Grianne Hurst and she has been extremely vocal on the subject. Her view is that while regulation of the industry is needed, what the government introduces must be “balanced” and with a “stable tax regime.”

With another massive black hole to fill, the Chancellor may well target the gambling industry in her Autumn Budget. There have already been proposals released that will see changes made to the way the UK gambling industry is taxed. The current three-tier system looks like being replaced by just one tax. The worry is that it will see a higher rate imposed as the need for more revenue becomes more urgent.

Hurst believes that tax increases would be “hugely self-defeating.” It will also affect what gambling sites can offer their customers and lead to the black market becoming even larger than it currently is.

Around Europe, there are changes being made in how gambling is being regulated.The past two years have seen the Netherlands introduce several regulatory measures on their gambling industry. This has included advertising gambling on television, radio, in newspapers and on billboards.

Spending caps have been imposed on players. This has again seen a rise in the number of those playing on the black market.

The Netherlands has also taken action against the sponsorship of sporting events by gambling companies. A ban came into place on 1 July and is a widespread one. Not only does it ban shirt sponsorships but other areas of sponsorship too. Individual athletes, teams and competitions will not be able to enter into sponsorship agreements with gambling companies. However, in Italy moves are afoot to again allow Serie A clubs to sign such sponsorship deals.

In France, the level of online betting tax has increased from 54.9% to 59.3% of GGR. That’s a higher level than in Greece where the rate is 35%.

With future measures likely to be introduced in the UK and around Europe, it could be difficult for gambling companies to continue posting impressive financial results.