Spain, Cyprus, Greece and the Czech Republic share their fight against illegal gambling in Rome, with predictive markets in the spotlight

Rome has been the meeting point for European regulators fighting illegal gambling this week, and the Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) has not missed the appointment. Its general director, Mikel Arana, participated on November 3 in SiGMA World Rome, the international meeting that brings together representatives of gambling, technology, financial markets and affiliate marketing at Fiera Roma . Among the issues that were put on the table, one that is very familiar to us: predictive markets.

Arana took part in the panel "Europe's Enforcement Era: Regulation Is Winning But At What Cost?", which we could translate as "The era of regulatory enforcement in Europe: regulation is winning, but at what cost?". The panel analysed how the application of regulations has evolved in Europe, what results the supervisory measures are giving and what challenges the authorities face in combating illegal gambling.

Representatives of the authorities of Cyprus, Greece and the Czech Republic sat alongside the Spanish regulator, who shared their experiences and approaches to platforms that offer online gambling without authorisation. The debate reviewed the evolution of actions and the difficulties in blocking access to unauthorised websites. It also addressed the challenges posed by means of payment, social networks and mirror domains, i.e. websites that imitate the image of legal brands.

The chapter on predictive markets came with an added difficulty: the platforms maintain that what they offer is not gambling. This is the argument with which they operate in the United States under financial supervision and not as bookmakers. In Spain, however, platforms such as Polymarket are still blocked, and the government has tendered a campaign against prediction markets and illegal gambling. We already explained at the time why these sites are illegal in Europe.

The participants agreed on the importance of cooperation between authorities and collaboration with other actors, such as payment service providers and digital platforms, to make measures against the illegal market more effective. This is a line that European regulators have been calling for since the beginning of the year.

Another of the axes was the role of the legal industry. The panel analysed possible ways of collaboration to detect and combat illegal activity. It also reviewed the practical obstacles that complicate the application of regulations when operators act from other jurisdictions, which is precisely where illegal operators are usually located.

According to the DGOJ, its presence in Rome is part of its work to supervise the state online gambling market and its commitment to an effective application of the regulatory framework, in line with the roadmap for 2026 that it presented at ICE Barcelona. The body considers cooperation with other regulators and agents in the sector to be key to meeting the challenges of a digital and global market, and to move towards a safer gambling environment and greater protection for players.