Member of the European Parliament from Malta, Peter Agius, stated at recent hearings that a ban on online gambling advertising in the EU could foster the development of the black market. According to him, such measures would only weaken consumer protection rather than strengthen it.
The hearings in the European Parliament took place shortly after a citizen of Cyprus submitted a petition calling for the ban of such advertising across all EU countries. During his speech, Agius agreed that protecting minors and preventing gambling addiction should remain a priority for European authorities, but he doubted that a complete advertising ban would help achieve these goals.
To support his position, Agius referred to a study conducted in 2023 by Strategy&. The analysts found that gambling addiction and other related problems were three times more likely to occur among consumers who used illegal operators than among clients of officially regulated services. Therefore, Agius emphasized that it is important to prevent the growth of the black market.