Netherlands Illegal Gambling Traffic Grows ‘Significantly’ Following Deposit Limits
A study on illegal gambling domains in the Netherlands on March 10 reported traffic to illegal sites had “increased significantly” following the introduction of deposit limits on legal platforms last year.
The Dutch-based Quality Mark Responsible Affiliates (KVA) scheme noted that traffic to domains found by searching for “casino without limits” or “casino without Cruks,” the Dutch self-exclusion system, had steadily increased since deposit limits went into effect in October.
In October, traffic to illegal domains stood at 172,576, while in November that rose to 294,255. By February it had reached 412,997. As of March 5, traffic to illegal domains had surpassed the 1 million mark.
The number of domains linked to illegal sites that appear in the top search results for “casino without limits” or “casino without Cruks” has also increased from 19 in October to 72 in March, according to KVA’s research.
Norway Conservative Politician: Market Liberalization Will Better Protect Players
Norwegian Conservative party politician Tage Pettersen said ending the current gambling monopoly would ensure better protection for players now gambling with grey-market operators and Norsk Tipping. In an interview with local publication Moss Avis on March 8, Pettersen once again called for market liberalization in Norway, to open up the market to private operators.
The Conservative party member predicts 50 percent of Norway’s online gambling market is currently powered by offshore operators.
Pettersen is one of four party members driving a campaign for market liberalization. In its September 2024 election manifesto, the party called for the monopoly model to be replaced, to provide “greater opportunities to help those who are struggling with problem gambling,” it said.
Looking at market liberalization in Sweden and Denmark, Pettersen said neither of these markets regretted ending the monopoly model.
“In Norway we can create the best model based on the experiences from Denmark, Sweden and Finland. No one in these countries is advocating a return to a monopoly!”
Online Gambling up 30 Percent in Slovakia; Land-based Revenue to Drop in 2025
The Slovakian Gambling Regulatory Authority (URHH) said it expects revenue from land-based gaming to decline in 2025 as online gambling revenue jumped 30 percent to almost $517 million in 2024. URHH posted its annual report March 11, outlining revenue, sales and tax income from the gambling industry for 2024. Last year, legal gambling in Slovakia reached a total player spend of $26.3 billion, up 11 percent from the previous year.
Total gambling revenue for the region across all verticals came in at $1.72 billion, an increase of 9.6 percent from 2023.
Overall land-based revenue in Slovakia was $521.5 million, which included $369 million in revenue from gambling rooms and $156.1 million in casino revenue. But the regulator said it expected this to decline into 2025.
“The Gambling Regulatory Authority expects that revenues from land-based gaming and casinos may decline in 2025, as a result of stricter regulations at the local government level,” the report said.
The authority stressed that this situation may lead to a shift of players to the illegal market, which will require stricter supervision and the introduction of more effective mechanisms to eliminate illegal activities.
Popular Illegal Sites Use Licensed Platforms in Sweden, Reports ATG
New Q4 research from Sweden’s racing monopoly Aktiebolaget Trav och Galopp (ATG) has found 17 out of 20 popular illegal gambling sites use the same platform providers as licensed operators.
Published March 12, an ATG-led report covering illegal gambling activity during Q4 said traffic to unlicensed sites in Sweden has increased tenfold since regulation in 2019.
This is some way below the government’s long-term target of 90 percent, set in 2019, when the country opened its regulated online gambling market.
ATG placed casino channelization at between 59 percent and 74 percent, while sports betting was in a range of 79 percent to 88 percent.
The operator uses web analytics tools to track web traffic within Sweden to licensed and unlicensed gambling companies.
ATG also noted six of the illegal websites flagged offered direct deposits and withdrawals from Swedish bank accounts via BankID, a digital identification system in Sweden which enables players to instantly access their bank account.
Additionally, two of the top 20 were on the gambling regulator’s list of banned unlicensed operators.
