A petition initiated by citizens of Cyprus is bringing the regulatory boundaries of EU gambling advertising into the spotlight. The petitioners are calling for a complete ban on gambling advertising across the EU, arguing that gambling marketing through social media, outdoor billboards, and other channels is pervasive, posing a continuous threat to minors, the elderly, and addiction recovery individuals. However, Maltese MEP Peter Agius issued a warning at the hearing: A blanket ban won't protect anyone, but will push players into the arms of illegal platforms. PASA's official website notes that the core disagreement of this debate is becoming an increasingly unavoidable dilemma for more European regulators.
Hearing Clash: A Complete Ban or Targeted Strike?
The starting point of the petitioners is not hard to understand. Gambling ads are almost everywhere on social media, and the exposure risk to vulnerable groups is indeed rising. Agius did not deny the priority of protecting minors and preventing addiction, but he threw out a sharp counter-question: Does a complete ban on advertising actually reduce harm, or does it merely drive demand towards those operators who never set up consumer protection mechanisms?
He also reminded policymakers present to be aware of the EU's jurisdictional boundaries—gambling policy is still primarily a national competence of member states, while the EU's regulatory focus is on combating misleading or aggressive advertising. Simply put, Brussels' desire for an outright ban is neither legally solid nor practically effective.
Data Doesn't Lie: Players on Illegal Platforms, Three Times More Likely to Encounter Problems
Agius's confidence comes from hard data. He cited a 2023 industry study commissioned by the French regulatory authority ANJ and completed by Strategy& (a PwC network), which shows some stark numbers: the share of the online gambling market in some member states that is illegal is quite significant; more crucially, the incidence of problem gambling behavior among users of illegal operators is as high as 66%, compared to only 22% among legal channel users—more than three times higher.
Agius's logic is clear: Effective consumer protection is precisely achieved through a regulated market with age verification, responsible gambling mechanisms, and the ability to track problematic behavior. If you cut off the advertising of legal channels, you're essentially taking the megaphone away from the responsible party, leaving illegal sites to quietly circle people in their private domains.
The Lesson from the Netherlands is Right Before Our Eyes
Looking across the EU, the scale of gambling advertising varies like a patchwork quilt—some countries have recently tightened significantly, while others remain relatively loose. However, negative examples of the tightening route are emerging.
The Dutch industry association VNLOK had previously sued Meta because of the rampant illegal gambling ads on Facebook and Instagram. Data shows that in the fourth quarter of 2025, over 95% of gambling ads on Meta platforms came from unlicensed operators. That same year, the channelization rate in the Netherlands plummeted to below 50%, with gambling revenue from the illegal market surpassing that of the licensed market.
The story in Germany is similarly pessimistic. After strict advertising rules were implemented, a large number of players moved to unlicensed platforms, and the gap between regulatory intentions and actual effects widened.
PASA's official website observes that regulatory bodies and industry organizations across Europe are gradually forming a consensus: Channelization rate and consumer protection are two sides of the same coin. When legal brands are silenced, illegal competitors remain lively in the same digital channels—users' attention doesn't disappear, it just shifts.
Considering an advertising ban as a panacea for consumer protection is neither precise nor safe. Although Agius did not name names at the hearing, his message was clear: Before blocking legal channels, first patch up the enforcement loopholes in the illegal market, otherwise, the battle is lost before it even begins.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders," a gambling industry news channel: https://t.me/pasa_news
Original in-depth gambling channel: https://t.me/gamblingdeep
Free data reports: @pasa_research
PASA Matrix: @pasa002_bot
PASA official website: https://www.pasa.news
