EU Gambling Advertising Ban Faces Black Market Warning

Europe already has a black market problem in online gambling, and Maltese MEP Peter Agius says a full advertising ban could make that problem harder to control. His warning came during a petition hearing on an EU wide gambling ad ban, according to CasinoNieuws.nl.

Good to know

• A Cypriot citizen asked the EU to ban all gambling advertising.
• Peter Agius said player protection may suffer when legal brands lose visibility.
• Illegal operator customers showed a 66% rate of problematic gambling behavior in a 2023 French study, versus 22% for regulated operator customers.

The Black Market Argument Comes First

Agius did not reject the goal behind the petition. Protecting minors, older adults, and people recovering from gambling addiction remains central to the debate. Yet he pushed back on the idea that a blanket ban gives regulators the safest outcome.

His argument rests on channelisation. Licensed operators can verify age, apply responsible gambling tools, track risky behavior, and answer to regulators. Illegal gambling sites can advertise through social media, affiliates, search results, and direct messages while avoiding those safeguards.

Agius pointed to a 2023 study commissioned by French regulator l’Autorité Nationale des Jeux and conducted by Strategy&, part of PwC. The research found problematic gambling behavior among 66% of illegal operator customers, compared with 22% among users of regulated services.

That difference gives policymakers a useful test. A rule may look protective on paper, but it can fail if it sends players from licensed gambling platforms to offshore sites.

EU Rules Do Not Work Like One National Market

The petition came from a Cypriot citizen who cited the volume of gambling ads across social media, billboards, and other public channels. The request called for a full EU ban, not only tighter rules on content or targeting.

Agius questioned whether Brussels can solve the issue with one broad rule. Gambling policy largely remains a national responsibility inside the European Union. EU action focuses more on misleading, aggressive, or unfair advertising than on replacing national gambling models.

That legal split explains why Europe looks uneven. Some countries restrict gambling ads heavily. Others allow legal operators to advertise under strict conditions. The hard part is keeping licensed sites visible enough to compete with illegal operators while still protecting vulnerable groups.

The Netherlands gives the clearest recent warning. VNLOK recently took legal action against Meta after illegal gambling ads spread across Facebook and Instagram. Unlicensed operators were estimated to account for more than 95% of gambling related ads shown on Meta platforms in the final quarter of 2025.

Germany also shows the same pressure point. Strict market rules helped drive players toward unlicensed operators, while the Netherlands saw channelisation fall below 50% in 2025 as illegal gambling revenue overtook the licensed sector.

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