Gibraltar gambling commissioner Andrew Lyman has said that politicians across Europe are making the same mistakes when it comes to regulating and taxing gambling.
Speaking on a panel at the Ethical Gambling Forum this week, Lyman explained the trend which is creating “unviable” gambling markets in Europe, which he argued is driving consumers to unlicensed operators.
He said: “There is a common mistake being made by politicians in all sorts of jurisdictions. Many jurisdictions have been slow to regulate commercial gambling because they want to protect state monopolies against EU law.
“They bring in regulatory regimes on an ostensibly open market and non-discriminatory basis, but as soon as they’ve captured all those regulated operators, they start shoving the tax up and raising regulation to a point where some of those markets are even now becoming unviable. That’s happening all across Europe.”
Gambling state monopolies have fallen across Europe in recent years, with Finland set to shift to a commercial model in July 2027. Sweden was a monopoly until 2019, and in 2024 saw its GGR tax rate increased from 18% to 22%, as Lyman referenced.
Specifically on tax hikes and regulation restraints, while citing markets such as the Netherlands and Germany as examples, Lyman warned that the practice is serving to drive players towards black market operators.
The Netherlands increased its tax rate to 34.2% of gross gaming revenue (GGR) in January 2025, with a further hike to 37.8% implemented at the start of this year. There is also a €700 monthly net deposit limit in the market, as well as a host of marketing constraints.
Earlier this month, the Dutch regulator KSA warned the market was “stagnating” thanks to overly onerous regulations.
Meanwhile, a report published by the German regulator GGL last month estimated channelisation in the country to sit at 77%.
Critics have argued that measures include a €1,000 deposit limit, a maximum online slots stake of €1 per spin and a 5.3% turnover tax on slots and poker have hampered the legal sector in Germany.
Lyman continued: “You can see it in the Netherlands, which started with a relatively liberal focused regime, and that started disintegrating a bit because of the political push around it. There’s the German legislation which has created a high level of channelisation to the black market Germany, for example.
“You’ve got to be very careful with a combination of regulation and tax rates to make sure that you don’t end up with an industry that is not viable or not competitive with operators who are in less regulated jurisdictions.”
As announced in November’s Autumn Budget, remote gaming duty in the UK market increased to 40% at the start of April, in spite of repeated warnings about the potential advantages this would present to the black market.
Some operators have already exited the UK, including Richmond Atlantic, Betzone and Aristocrat Interactive’s white-label operations.
FDJ United recently also bemoaned tax increases in both France and Romania in its latest financial earnings report.
The post Politicians making “common mistake” with gambling regulations, says Gibraltar commissioner first appeared on EGR Intel.
Andrew Lyman warns decision makers across Europe continue to drive players towards black market operators, with Germany and the Netherlands cited as examples
The post Politicians making “common mistake” with gambling regulations, says Gibraltar commissioner first appeared on EGR Intel.