In a potential market surge, Ukraine stands to gain an extra 60-70% revenue.
**"Ain't no crystal ball required to get a sense of the black market's size in gambling, but it's tricky due to its clandestine nature," quips Ivan Rudy, chief of KRAIL, during his chat with Comments.ua.
He casually estimates, "Hypothetically, let's say around 70-60% could be tacked onto the current market. Remember, you can never really track the black market like a cat chases a laser pointer!"
Interestingly, Rudy points out that even in nations with predominantly legal gambling, a substantial black market exists. According to him, a healthy 80-20 split is common, while a 70-30 ratio isn't unheard of either. "You won't find a country where it's 95-5, it's always a big ol' slice," he emphasizes.
Hop over to sporting.net for more insights:
- "The 'white' gambling market has swollen from a mere 5% to a whopping 40-50% - speaks an expert"
- "A shady scheme worth 7.2 billion? A fugitive defendant lands smack in the slammer!"
- "An additional 51.2 billion hryvnias for tax collectors: Where does it come from, and how will the gambling biz react?"
Here's a sneak peek into the black market's stats across various regions:
Netherlands
- Black Market Size: The black market in the Netherlands reportedly matches the size of the legal market.
- Channelisation Rate: The Netherlands experienced a drop in its channelisation rate from 95% in the first half of 2024 to 91% in the second half, but only about half of the total spend remains with licensed operators, hinting at considerable black market activity.
Sweden
- Black Market Tracking: Sweden's gaming regulator monitors around 1,100 unlicensed sites, with about 65% of the traffic under active surveillance. No precise size comparison between the black market and the white market is provided, but the regulator is taking steps to control illegal gambling.
Latin America
- Regulatory Push: Authorities in Latin America have ramped up efforts to quash the black market, knocking out 15% of illegal platforms and decimating the illegal online gambling supply by 40%. However, specific percentages comparing the black market to the white market aren't detailed.
United States
- Unregulated Market: A study found that unregulated gaming sites raked in about $67 billion in revenue last year, with the black market punching above its weight, outpacing legal iGaming growth. The unregulated sector claimed a whopping 74% of online gambling losses, highlighting the dominance of illegal operations over legal ones.
"The casino-and-gambling business, as Ivan Rudy of KRAIL notes, has a significant black market, accounting for about 70-60% of the current market. This is a challenging aspect due to the clandestine nature of such operations.
Rudy also mentions that even in nations with legal gambling, a substantial black market exists, often adhering to an 80-20 or 70-30 split compared to legal operations.
In the Netherlands, the black market in gambling is reportedly as large as the legal market, despite efforts to control it. Adherence to regulations in Sweden is monitored closely, but specifics about the black market's size compared to the white market remain undefined.
In Latin America, authorities have managing to knock out 15% of illegal gambling platforms, yet detailed percentages comparing the black market to the white market remain elusive."
