Open licensing, split by function
Alderney
A Channel Island jurisdiction whose licence separates the customer relationship from the platform operation.
Licensed online casinoLicensed sports betting
Europe
The most densely regulated region in the industry, and the one where the licence-per-country model was established. Nearly every market listed here has moved from a monopoly or an unlicensed phase to a national licensing regime, and most now tax gross gaming revenue rather than turnover.
| Jurisdiction | Online casino | Sports betting | Regulator | Online since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alderney | Licensed | Licensed | AGCC | 2000 |
| Belgium | Tied to land-based | Tied to land-based | BGC | 2011 |
| Czechia | Licensed | Licensed | MF ČR | 2017 |
| Denmark | Licensed | Licensed | DGA | 2012 |
| Finland | State monopoly | State monopoly | Poliisihallitus | — |
| France | Prohibited | Licensed | ANJ | 2010 |
| Germany | Partly restricted | Licensed | GGL | 2021 |
| Gibraltar | Licensed | Licensed | GLA | 1998 |
| Greece | Licensed | Licensed | HGC | 2020 |
| Ireland | Licensed | Licensed | GRAI | 2025 |
| Isle of Man | Licensed | Licensed | GSC | 2001 |
| Italy | Licensed | Licensed | ADM | 2011 |
| Malta | Licensed | Licensed | MGA | 2001 |
| Netherlands | Licensed | Licensed | KSA | 2021 |
| Norway | State monopoly | State monopoly | Lotteritilsynet | — |
| Poland | State monopoly | Licensed | MF | 2017 |
| Portugal | Licensed | Licensed | SRIJ | 2015 |
| Romania | Licensed | Licensed | ONJN | 2015 |
| Spain | Licensed | Licensed | DGOJ | 2012 |
| Sweden | Licensed | Licensed | SGA | 2019 |
| Switzerland | Tied to land-based | State monopoly | Gespa | 2019 |
| United Kingdom | Licensed | Licensed | UKGC | 2007 |
Market profiles
22 jurisdictions on file in Europe.
Online licence tied to a land-based licence
Belgium
Online licences exist only as supplements to land-based licences, and advertising is prohibited.
Tied to land-based online casinoTied to land-based sports betting
Open licensing per game type
Czechia
A licensed market with a mandatory central exclusion register that covers more than self-exclusion.
Licensed online casinoLicensed sports betting
Open licensing
Denmark
An early licensing regime whose certification programme and exclusion register were widely copied.
Licensed online casinoLicensed sports betting
Monopoly, with licensing legislated for 2027
Finland
One of Europe's last gambling monopolies, legislated to open to licensed competition from 2027.
State monopoly online casinoState monopoly sports betting
Open licensing, three verticals only
France
The largest European economy with no legal online casino: only betting, horse racing and poker can be licensed.
Prohibited online casinoLicensed sports betting
Open licensing, with online table games excluded
Germany
Europe's largest economy licenses online slots and poker but not online table games, and taxes stakes rather than revenue.
Partly restricted online casinoLicensed sports betting
Selective licensing, hub jurisdiction
Gibraltar
The original base of the British online betting industry, still an operational hub for several large groups.
Licensed online casinoLicensed sports betting
Open licensing, two licence types
Greece
A market that replaced a long transitional arrangement with seven-year licences in 2020.
Licensed online casinoLicensed sports betting
Open licensing, phased by category
Ireland
A market moving from almost no online regulation to a full licensing regime under an authority created in 2024.
Licensed online casinoLicensed sports betting
Open licensing, hub jurisdiction
Isle of Man
A Crown Dependency used as a licensing and hosting base, particularly by platform and network businesses.
Licensed online casinoLicensed sports betting
Concession awarded by public tender
Italy
A large licensed market entered only through periodic concession tenders, and closed to advertising since 2018.
Licensed online casinoLicensed sports betting
Open licensing, B2C and B2B
Malta
A small domestic market whose importance lies in being the industry's main licensing and employment hub.
Licensed online casinoLicensed sports betting
Open licensing
Netherlands
A licensed market since October 2021, now one of the most advertising-restricted in Europe.
Licensed online casinoLicensed sports betting
Monopoly, actively enforced
Norway
A monopoly defended with payment blocking and DNS blocking rather than left nominally in force.
State monopoly online casinoState monopoly sports betting
Betting permits only; online casino reserved to the state
Poland
Online betting is permitted to commercial operators; online casino belongs to a single state operator.
State monopoly online casinoLicensed sports betting
Open licensing per vertical
Portugal
A licensed market whose split tax base, stakes for betting and revenue for casino, shapes its product mix.
Licensed online casinoLicensed sports betting
Open licensing, with affiliates licensed separately
Romania
One of the few markets that licenses affiliates and payment providers, not only operators and suppliers.
Licensed online casinoLicensed sports betting
Open licensing, two tiers
Spain
A licensed market with a general and singular licence structure and severe limits on advertising and bonuses.
Licensed online casinoLicensed sports betting
Open licensing
Sweden
A licensed market built around a single national self-exclusion register and a one-bonus rule.
Licensed online casinoLicensed sports betting
Online casino limited to land-based concession holders
Switzerland
Online casino is lawful only as an extension of a Swiss land-based casino concession, and foreign sites are blocked.
Tied to land-based online casinoState monopoly sports betting
Open licensing, point of consumption
United Kingdom
The largest regulated online market in Europe, and the one whose licence conditions are most often used as a benchmark.
Licensed online casinoLicensed sports betting
Regulators in this region
ADM · Italy
Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli
The customs and monopolies agency, which awards Italian online gaming concessions by public tender rather than open licensing.
AGCC · Alderney
Alderney Gambling Control Commission
A Channel Island regulator whose two-category licence separates the customer relationship from the platform.
ANJ · France
Autorité nationale des jeux
The French regulator, which licenses online betting and poker but not online casino games.
DGOJ · Spain
Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego
The Spanish regulator, which operates a two-tier licence and some of Europe's strictest advertising limits.
UKGC · Great Britain
Gambling Commission
The licensing body for all gambling offered to customers in Great Britain, whether the operator is based there or not.
GRAI · Ireland
Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland
The authority created in 2024 to license Irish gambling for the first time under a single framework.
GSC · Isle of Man
Gambling Supervision Commission
A long-established Crown Dependency licensing jurisdiction, used heavily by platform and network businesses.
BGC · Belgium
Gaming Commission
The Belgian commission, where an online licence must be attached to an existing land-based licence.
GGL · Germany
Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder
The joint authority of the German states, which licenses online slots, poker and sports betting under the 2021 interstate treaty.
GLA · Gibraltar
Gibraltar Licensing Authority
A small jurisdiction that licensed much of the early British online betting industry and still hosts a large part of it.
HGC · Greece
Hellenic Gaming Commission
The Greek commission, which replaced a long transitional regime with seven-year licences in 2020.
Gespa · Switzerland
Intercantonal Gambling Supervisory Authority
The Swiss authority for lotteries and betting, in a market where online casino is limited to land-based concession holders.
KSA · Netherlands
Kansspelautoriteit
The Dutch regulator, which opened a licensed online market in October 2021 after a long enforcement-only period.
Lotteritilsynet · Norway
Lotteritilsynet
The Norwegian authority defending a two-operator monopoly with payment and website blocking.
MGA · Malta
Malta Gaming Authority
The licensing authority used by a large share of the industry's operators and suppliers as their primary European base.
MF · Poland
Ministry of Finance
The Polish ministry that permits online betting while reserving online casino to a state operator.
MF ČR · Czechia
Ministry of Finance, State Supervision of Gambling
The Czech ministry that licenses online gambling and operates a central exclusion register.
Poliisihallitus · Finland
National Police Board, Gambling Administration
The Finnish supervisor of a gambling monopoly that is being replaced by a licensing system.
ONJN · Romania
Oficiul Național pentru Jocuri de Noroc
The Romanian office, one of the few regulators that licenses affiliates as well as operators and suppliers.
SRIJ · Portugal
Serviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos
The Portuguese regulator, part of the national tourism authority, licensing online gambling since 2015.
SGA · Sweden
Spelinspektionen
The Swedish Gambling Authority, which opened a licensed market in 2019 after decades of state monopoly.
DGA · Denmark
Spillemyndigheden
The Danish Gambling Authority, which ran one of the earliest and most imitated European licensing regimes.