While some countries have a state-controlled public operator, a growing number of EU nations allow more than one operator to provide services. So it’s big business in Europe, and growing all the time. And, overall, online GGR across the continent is set to reach €24.7bn by 2020, mostly generated by sports betting, web-based casinos and lotteries. Some permit all types of games, others only some, for example, casino or poker activities.Īccording to Statista, the gross gambling revenue (GGR) of European nations accounts for 0.5% of GDP on average.
Most member states allow at least some games of chance to be played online. And many of the main gambling sites operate across the continent. However, in general terms, online gambling is legal in most member states of the European Union. Equally, keeping up with the different legislations, especially regarding online gaming, can be challenging. That also makes the question, is gambling online is legal in Europe, harder to answer, because there can be significant variations between what is allowed in different countries. However, as far as gambling is concerned, there’s no pan-European standardisation of betting or gaming, meaning each individual state must pass its own laws.
It’s easy to think of Europe as a single entity politically, geographically and economically.
