Regulated iGaming is on a “clearly upward” growth trend across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, says the leader of the Gaming Laboratories International (GLI) division serving that vast area.
Established markets such as the United Kingdom and Europe are growing as more players shift from land-based to online gambling, said James P. Boje, managing director of GLI operations for Europe, the Middle East, India, and Africa.
“Players continue to move from land-based venues to digital channels, mobile usage keeps rising, and products are getting more sophisticated,” he said. “These (U.K. and European) markets are mature, so growth is steady rather than explosive, but it’s consistent and durable.”
Some jurisdictions in Africa and Europe are seeing increased online activity because they recently allowed iGaming with the goal of replacing unregulated activity, improving oversight, and increasing tax revenue, he added. India has no national iGaming market and only a few state-level exceptions.
Operators and providers hoping to take part in the region’s iGaming growth can face a bewildering array of regulations, languages, customs, and cultures. With 74 jurisdictions in its purview, the EMEIA division of GLI treats regulatory complexity “as a constant, not an exception,” Boje said. “GLI relies on a mix of local presence, global knowledge, and continuous regulator engagement to anticipate what’s coming next.”
He said the division has regional experts who monitor legislation, technical standards, and regulatory guidance as they evolve, in addition to maintaining work relationships with regulators and other authorities throughout the region.
“This ensures requirements are understood early, often before they are formally enforced,” he said. “Local specialists understand not just the written rules, but how regulators expect them to be implemented in practice. That local insight is then shared across GLI’s global network, so lessons learned in one jurisdiction inform readiness in others.”
Operators and providers entering the EMEIA region can expect to encounter regulations that differ dramatically from those in the United States in several aspects, including protection of customer data, advertising limits, Responsible Gaming measures, and market structure.
“These differences reflect a more preventative and consumer-protection-first mindset in many EMEIA jurisdictions,” Boje said. For example, many European countries restrict when and how gambling can be advertised, with some having almost a total prohibition. Limits or bans on celebrity or athlete endorsements and bonus messaging also are common. RG requirements include mandatory player verification before play, deposit and loss limits, session time reminders, cooling-off periods, and centralized self-exclusion registers that apply across all licensed operators in a jurisdiction. He noted that RG tools in the United States are often operator-specific and less standardized across states. In addition, several European regulators now require enhanced monitoring of player behavior, including affordability checks and intervention thresholds when spending patterns change.
Game designers and manufacturers also may encounter different restrictions in EMEIA jurisdictions. Those include regulations on spin speeds, autoplay features, jackpot structures, and bonus mechanics, particularly for online slots. Boje said typical U.S. rules focus more on technical compliance and fairness than on gameplay pacing or player behavior impact.
The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, which took effect in 2018, sets strict requirements for data protection and customer privacy. Boje said operators must meet detailed standards around data handling, storage, consent, and player rights that go far beyond typical U.S. privacy requirements.
He added that many EMEIA jurisdictions set up monopoly or limited-license models for lotteries, VLTs, or online gaming, compared with the typical U.S. practice of open licensing once a state legalizes a product.
“In short, while U.S. regulation focuses heavily on state autonomy and technical compliance, EMEIA regulation places stronger emphasis on consumer protection, advertising restraint, and proactive responsible gambling controls, creating a more complex but more preventative regulatory environment overall,” Boje said.
With its worldwide expertise in gaming regulation, GLI “simplifies complexity,” Boje said. “GLI stays ahead of the curve by combining continuous regulatory intelligence, strong regulator relationships, multilingual regional expertise, and a global knowledge base built across 710-plus jurisdictions. This approach allows clients to stay compliant, reduce surprises, and move confidently across the diverse and evolving EMEIA regulatory landscape.”
