Legal betting: your shield against the black market
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24 Jun 2025 •
Reading time: 3 minutes In a rapidly expanding digital landscape, the online gambling black market thrives, offering attractive bonuses and tempting accessibility. Yet it’s not just about the games or the offers: the real value of the regulated industry is security. So how do we counter this rise in power?
What is the online gaming black market?
The term ‘black market’ refers to unregulated, often offshore, platforms that attract players with generous bonuses and an attractive interface. At first glance, these assets seem identical to those of legal sites: the possibility of betting on major events, ease of use, attractive promotions. So why be wary of them?
While the regulated industry relies on trust, the black market relies on speed and anonymity, but at what price?
- Risky payments: withdrawals may take a long time, be blocked, or incur unexpected charges.
- No insurance: in the event of a dispute, there is no legal recourse.
- Data security: with no legal obligation, your banking or personal information may be compromised.
The black market: an argument that has become too easy
For years, the regulated gambling industry has adopted a well-known communication strategy when dealing with regulators or legislators: it systematically brandishes the threat of the black market. Whenever an unfavourable legislative reform is envisaged, operators conjure up a catastrophic scenario in which players would flee en masse to uncontrolled offshore platforms.
This rhetoric has long been effective. It is true that some poorly thought-out regulations can weaken the legal offer and make unauthorised platforms more attractive. The danger is real. But the legal sector has ended up undermining the credibility of its own argument by constantly raising this threat at every opportunity, without always backing it up.
Speaking with one voice: an internal challenge
One of the weaknesses of the current discourse stems from the lack of unity within the industry itself. Land-based casinos versus online platforms, state monopolies versus open markets: instead of building a clear and united position vis-à-vis the regulators, the players in the gaming industry are fighting each other behind the scenes, each defending its own commercial interests. As a result, the collective message becomes confused and illegible, and loses all power of persuasion.
At the same time, the strongest arguments, such as the tax losses to the State caused by the black market, are drowned out by technical debates, comparisons of models and figures on “cannibalisation” between channels. The crux of the problem is removed from the political debate, and there is a great risk that incoherent or even absurd legislative proposals will emerge, such as a total ban on online gambling.
Can the game be won?
The time has come for the industry to review its strategy. It is no longer enough to name the enemy. We need to explain, prove and convince. This requires open, transparent and fact-based communication. It’s about demonstrating how the regulated offer is superior: not just because it’s legal, but because it’s safer, more responsible, more beneficial to the community.
The real question is not whether gambling should be authorised or not. It exists, in all its forms. The only question that matters to decision-makers is: who should control it? The opaque, elusive black market? Or a regulated, taxed and audited ecosystem?