The Greek Gaming Commission (EEEP) has revealed the scale of the country's unlicensed gambling market, estimating that around €1.8bn was wagered through illegal operators in 2025. The regulator also found that nearly 900,000 players participated in black market gambling during the year.
The average annual spend per player was estimated at €2,027. According to the regulator, Greece's player channelisation rate remains below the European average, suggesting there is still significant room to reduce the size of the illegal gambling sector.
The EEEP's blacklist already contains 14,467 unlicensed gambling websites, illustrating the speed at which mirror sites and new illegal platforms continue to emerge.
The regulator has also noted that the illegal gambling ecosystem is becoming increasingly sophisticated, with operators using anonymisation services, blockchain technologies, cryptocurrencies and platforms based outside European jurisdictions. This makes detection and enforcement significantly more challenging.
To address the issue, the EEEP is proposing faster removal of illegal gambling content from search engines and social media platforms, expansion of its blacklist of unlicensed operators, closer cooperation with internet service providers and tougher administrative sanctions.
Furthermore, targeted penalties for influencers, streamers, and other third parties that promote unlicensed gambling services are incoming, as is further strengthening of its supervisory powers.
The EEEP recently filed a complaint with the Athens Prosecutor's Office against 18 influencers for allegedly promoting illegal gambling operators through their Instagram accounts.
This week, the regulator launched a tender for specialised legal services to support the review and development of Know Your Customer (KYC) rules for licensed online gambling operators.
According to the Greek Gaming Commission, turnover from illegal gambling networks in Greece was around €1.67bn for 2024
