A recent research report by EY titled Illegal Online Gambling in Spain claims that the uncontrolled market of online gambling in Spain is much bigger than it has ever been recorded. The research, which was presented by JDigital, the Spanish trade organ in iGaming this week, is the first report to provide a detailed overview of illegal digital gambling in the nation. It also brings out the fact that the problem is hastened by misinformation, easy access and aggressive recruiting using social media. The report, which assesses online gambling platforms usage among adults of the age range 18-65, is based on the results of an online survey that has identified an increasing trend of usage due to the lack of awareness of the issue and an ever-increasing digital outreach.

The danger of this expansion was cautioned by Jorge Hinojosa, the CEO of Jdigital. He wrote: This research demonstrates that illegal gambling is no peripheral occurrence, but a true danger to thousands of users who are beyond any insurance. To secure the player, it is necessary to enhance information channelling to licensed operators and enhance institutional collaboration. The researchers concluded that 23.4% of the people had ever played on unregulated platforms at least once, whether they knew it or not. The other 9.3% acknowledged the usage of illegal operators. Of illegal use of platforms, the highest rate is observed in the 1824 age group (16.1%), although 32.1% respond that they do not know that there exist unregulated operators. The consumption probability decreases gradually with age, as well as the degree of disorientation regarding whether gambling sites are legitimate.

One of the reasons why these trends have arisen is the massive confusion as to what a legal operator is. Approximately 47.5% of those participants who thought that they were only using regulated sites had, in fact, got into unauthorised sites like the .com, the .io or the .bet.

The Market of Illegal Gambling Absorbs Huge Percentages of Income

The cost-effectiveness is high. Appendix upon the estimates by EY reveals that illegal online gambling in Spain had created a turnover of as much as 231m in 2024, equivalent to 16% of the regulated online gambling market in the country. The report further reveals that the uncontrolled segment is controlled by high-intensity gamblers. Individuals who paid over €600 a month occupy 61.4 per cent of the overall unregulated gambling spending. According to EY, these users are prone to switching to licensed operators in pursuit of better bonuses, fewer limitations and effortless access. Economic benefits have continued to be the greatest impetus for players resorting to unlicensed sites. According to the report, 29.8 per cent of the respondents found bonuses and promotions to be the greatest attraction. Such consumers who are aware of illegal operator usage put even greater emphasis on welcome offers, which are higher than what licensed operators can offer as per Spanish regulations.

Behaviour with regard to payment is also different. Even though the majority of gamblers take credit or debit cards, customers of illegal operators less commonly resort to using such methods as Bizum or cryptocurrencies in order to family faster operations or high anonymity. Illegal gambling has also found a new and big entrance through social networks. Of those players who used unregulated operators, 38% reported finding them on YouTube, TikTok or Instagram. Telegram also has a disproportionate share: 12% of all people who use illegal gambling accessed such sites on the messaging platform, and 4% of people who use licensed operators do so. According to EY, these unsupervised and opaque digital networks have become one of the primary channels of recruitment for illegal gambling in Spain.

There Are Other Issues of Concern in the European Context

The report puts the situation in Spain into a larger European tendency. It is estimated that in 2024, illegal online gambling will have taken as much as 71% of the gross gaming revenue in Europe and will increase by 53% annually compared to regulated operators, as it attracts more attention and does not have any limitations. Even though it may be true that the illegal gambling penetration rates are lower in Spain as compared to other European nations, EY cautions that the same European powers are taking effect on the Spanish users. The policy of online gambling regulation in Europe is extremely uneven. Each country has its own rules and licensing policies, and the European Commission only interferes to harmonise a few primitive points. Since the system is not coordinated, the cross-border cooperation becomes decisive, in particular, in attempts at fighting illegal operators that operate at the transnational level.

The company thus urged more intense channelling to the licensed operators and enhanced cross-border collaboration. In the ultimate conclusions made, the EY study warns that some of the noble limitations in the regulated market are likely to decrease its appeal and drive players to unlicensed platforms. The authors highlight the importance of non-restrictive, but still regulated controls that will ensure the protection of the players without stimulating the transition to illegal gambling operators.