Austria Plans a Controlled Opening of the Online Market
The most significant change is currently taking place in Austria. As recently as April, it was still unclear whether the existing online monopoly would be continued or whether the market would be opened up to multiple providers. In the meantime, a government bill has been submitted to the Austrian Parliament, which provides for a strictly regulated licensing system with multiple providers.
The planned reform combines market liberalization with significantly stricter requirements. Among other things, it calls for a centralized blocking registry covering all operators and game types, cross-operator deposit limits, as well as network blocks and payment blocking against illegal offerings.
The bill also sets out clear conditions for providers currently operating without an Austrian license. Anyone wishing to apply for a license in the future must cease their unlicensed operations in Austria. New online licenses are to be awarded starting in 2027 and, according to the current schedule, could take effect as of October 2027.
However, the reform has not yet been finalized. Austria notified the European Commission of the draft in early August. This triggers a three-month standstill period before a final decision can be made.
Nevertheless, this clearly signals for the first time the path Austria intends to take: rather than continuing a single online monopoly, a regulated licensing market is intended to create legal alternatives in the future while simultaneously curbing the black market.
The Netherlands Wants to Further Tighten Regulation
While Austria aims to expand the legal online market, the Netherlands is moving in a different direction.
In June, the Dutch government announced a far-reaching package of measures. Plans include a complete ban on advertising for online gambling, a ban on bonuses, and a cross-provider deposit limit. Anyone wishing to increase their limit will, in the future, have to prove their financial viability.
At the same time, the fight against illegal providers is to be intensified. The plan includes additional options for blocking illegal websites, as well as clearer legal obligations for companies that could technically or financially facilitate illegal offerings—such as payment service providers or hosting providers. In addition, authorities are examining whether the number of online licenses should be limited in the future.
These measures are not yet fully enacted law but are to be incorporated into a draft bill.
New figures from the Dutch gambling regulator also show why the issue of channeling remains a central focus. According to the authority, approximately 91 percent of Dutch players use only legal providers. However, when considering the money wagered or lost, the channeling rate is estimated at only 53 percent.
This means the well-known gap between the number of players and the volume of money wagered persists—though current figures now allow for a much more precise quantification of this gap.
Sweden Reports a Slight Decline in Channeling
New figures are now also available from Sweden. The gambling regulator Spelinspektionen estimates the channeling rate for 2025 at 84 percent. For 2024, the figure had previously been stated as 85 percent.
According to the authority, 94 percent of registered players gambled with providers holding a Swedish license. At the same time, significant differences remain between individual forms of gambling: sports betting continues to achieve a higher channeling rate than online casinos.
The decline of one percentage point is not, in and of itself, a dramatic change. However, it shows that even an established licensed market cannot automatically maintain a high channeling rate in the long term.
Denmark Steps Up Action Against Mirror Sites
Denmark is continuing its consistent crackdown on illegal online gambling sites. In August, the Gambling Authority announced that an additional 98 illegal gambling sites had been blocked. Since the campaign began in 2012, a total of 870 websites have been blocked.
More interesting than the sheer number, however, is another development. The Danish Gambling Authority has agreed to a new collaboration with the telecommunications industry that will allow so-called mirror sites to be blocked more quickly.
If a court has already ruled that the original site is illegal, corresponding copies or mirror sites can be blocked under certain conditions without having to go through the entire court process again for each individual domain.
This is Denmark’s response to a fundamental problem with website blocking: When a domain is blocked, illegal providers can often continue their operations virtually unchanged under a new address.
France Blocks Polymarket
The handling of so-called prediction markets has also gained importance since our first comparison.
In July, the French gambling regulator ANJ ordered access to Polymarket to be blocked. The authority considers the service to be unauthorized gambling.
The sequence of events is noteworthy. Following an initial intervention, the operator had already implemented geoblocking to prevent financial transactions from France. According to the ANJ, however, this restriction was circumvented in practice. Consequently, the authority ordered French internet service providers to block the website.
This case demonstrates that prediction markets are no longer merely the subject of regulatory discussions. In some countries, they are already leading to concrete enforcement measures.
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein Strengthen Cooperation
Just how international this issue has become was recently demonstrated by the meeting of German-speaking gambling regulatory authorities on September 9 and 10 in Bern.
Representatives from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein identified the fight against illegal online gambling as one of the key current challenges. In the future, cross-border cooperation is to be further strengthened.
The discussion was not limited to illegal offerings and enforcement measures. Prediction markets, sports betting, and the role of licensed providers in combating illegal offerings were also on the agenda.
Developments in player protection are also noteworthy. Switzerland and Liechtenstein have been exchanging data on banned players since January 2025. At the meeting in Bern, discussions took place regarding the potential expansion of such information and data exchange to include additional countries.
This adds a new dimension to European gambling regulation. While national rules remain in place, cross-border cooperation is gaining importance when it comes to enforcement, new business models, and, potentially in the future, player bans.
Europe’s Models Are Drifting Further Apart
Five months after our first comparison, there is still no unified European approach.
Austria intends to open the online market to multiple licensed providers while simultaneously tightening enforcement. The Netherlands, on the other hand, is planning additional restrictions on the already open market. Denmark is attempting to curb technical circumvention strategies more quickly, while France is taking visible action against a major betting market for the first time.
At the same time, there is a growing recognition that illegal online gambling cannot be combated exclusively within national borders. The meeting of the DACHL regulatory authorities in Bern shows that information sharing and cooperation among authorities are likely to play a greater role in the future.
This is precisely why the issue of channeling remains a key concern: What will be decisive is not only which rules individual countries adopt, but whether they succeed in actually keeping players within the regulated market and effectively curbing cross-border illegal offerings.