Illegal market in Spain moves €231M, Jdigital report at ICE
An EY study for the association reveals that 23.4% of users have interacted with unregulated platforms. The industry warns that "hyperregulation" and product restrictions are pushing high-intensity players towards ".com" and ".io" domains.
Within the strategic framework of ICE Barcelona 2026, Jdigital has presented a report that has shaken the "La Plaza" forum. The study, prepared by the consulting firm EY, analyzes the magnitude of illegal gambling in Spain and issues a clear warning: user ignorance and regulatory rigidity are creating a risky ecosystem, especially among younger people.
Jorge Hinojosa, general director of Jdigital, led the presentation emphasizing that illegal gambling is not a residual phenomenon but a structural problem that costs the Spanish public coffers more than 231 million euros annually in uncollected taxes.
The figures of the regulatory gap
The report reveals worrying data about the perception and behavior of Spanish bettors:
- Identity confusion: 47.5% of those who believe they are playing on legal sites are, in fact, accessing unauthorized domains (mainly with extensions .com, .io or .bet).
- The player profile: 16% of the total market value has shifted to the illegal environment, but the most serious issue is that 61.4% of the spending in this sector comes from high-intensity players (more than €600 monthly).
- Youth vulnerability: 32.1% of young people between 18 and 24 years old admit not knowing whether the platform they use is licensed by the DGOJ.
The "product" as a factor of leakage
During a high-level roundtable, sector leaders such as Mariana Collado (Entain), Juan Heredero (Codere), and Jose Giacomelli (MGA) analyzed the causes of this migration.
Heredero was blunt in pointing out that the quality and offer of the illegal market sometimes surpass the legal one due to current licensing restrictions. "After 15 years of regulation, it is necessary to update the licenses. It is illogical that illegal gambling is advertised on social media while we are prohibited from doing so", stated the Codere executive, who also advocated limiting advertising by content rather than by time slots.
For his part, Giacomelli (MGA) warned that hyperregulation can be counterproductive, as the aggressive bonuses of the illegal market are a "very difficult magnet to combat" if the legal operator does not have competitive loyalty tools.
Technology and networks: the new battlefield
The report highlights that WhatsApp and Telegram have become the main gateways to illegal gambling, facilitated by fast payment methods such as Bizum or cryptocurrencies. Mariana Collado (Entain) even denounced the existence of illegal sites that fraudulently include DGOJ seals to deceive users, making DNS blocks insufficient, as they "reappear immediately".
Conclusion and proposal
Jdigital closed its intervention reaffirming its willingness to collaborate with the DGOJ, but insisted that measures must be "proportional and balanced." For the association, protecting the player should not mean suffocating the sustainability of the regulated market, but rather equipping it with the necessary tools to compete against illegal offerings.
Tags: Spain, online betting Spain, illegal betting market Spain, EY Spain report