SBC Summit Europe | 19-21 April 2027 | RAI Amsterdam
Table of Contents
From Finland opening its market to Britain raising betting taxes, 2027 will bring significant regulatory change across European gambling.
Those changes will take very different forms. Finland will open its online gambling market to private operators from 1 July, creating one of Europe’s most significant new licensing opportunities. In Great Britain, the pressure is moving in the opposite direction, with the tax on most remote betting profits rising to 25% from April.
Other countries enter 2027 with important regulatory questions still unresolved. Germany’s temporary arrangement allowing eligible online slots players to stake above the standard €1 limit runs until the end of the year, providing a test of whether greater flexibility can improve channelisation while maintaining player protection.
Spain is reviewing legislation that has governed its online market since 2011. In the Netherlands, the first licence renewals are already underway, with more operators reaching the end of their initial five-year licence periods and facing renewed regulatory scrutiny. Ireland, meanwhile, will continue moving from its previously fragmented system towards a single regulatory framework under the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland.
Taken together, these developments show why there is no single European regulatory story for 2027. Some jurisdictions are opening up, others are increasing the cost of doing business, while regulators elsewhere are reviewing whether existing frameworks are delivering the results they intended.
For operators, suppliers and affiliates, the challenge is therefore not simply keeping track of new rules. It is understanding what is changing in each market, when it changes and what needs to be done now to prepare.
So, which regulatory developments should European gaming businesses have on their radar in 2027?
Finland: The Market Finally Opens
One of Europe’s most anticipated regulatory changes arrives on 1 July 2027, when Finland opens betting, online slots, online casino and online bingo to licensed competition.
The reform brings an end to Veikkaus’ monopoly across those products, although the state-owned operator will retain exclusive control of areas including lotteries, scratchcards and physical slots and casino games.
Operators have already been able to apply for Finnish gambling licences since March 2026, but they cannot begin offering or marketing licensed games until the new system goes live next year.
The reform is designed partly to improve Finland’s channelisation rate by bringing more gambling activity under domestic regulation.
That opportunity is particularly significant because Finnish consumers already gamble extensively online. Industry estimates have put the digital channelisation rate at around 50%, suggesting that a substantial share of existing online gambling activity currently sits outside the domestic regulated market.
For incoming operators, the challenge will therefore be less about creating demand and more about being ready to compete for it when the market opens.
That makes launch preparation particularly important. Operators planning to enter Finland will need responsible-gambling systems, customer monitoring, compliant marketing strategies and locally relevant products in place ahead of 1 July 2027.
The transition also extends beyond B2C operators. From 1 July 2028, licensed gambling operators will only be permitted to use gambling software supplied by licensed providers, giving B2B businesses their own regulatory deadline to prepare for.
The question for 2027: Can Finland’s new system bring players currently gambling outside the domestic system into its newly competitive licensed market?
Great Britain: Sports Betting Rules Change Again
British online gambling operators will enter 2027 having already absorbed a major tax increase.
Remote Gaming Duty, which applies to products including online casino, rose from 21% to 40% on 1 April 2026.
From 1 April 2027, sportsbook operators face another change, with the government introducing a 25% rate of General Betting Duty on most remote betting profits, up from 15%.
There are some exceptions. Remote bets on UK horseracing will remain taxed at 15%, reflecting operators’ existing contributions to the Horserace Betting Levy.
Bets placed through self-service betting terminals in betting shops will remain at the existing rate, while pool and spread betting are also excluded from the new remote rate.
For online sportsbooks, the bigger issue is what the higher tax burden means in practice.
Operators may have less room to spend on promotions, customer acquisition and other areas used to compete for players, while also facing greater pressure on sportsbook margins.
Different businesses will respond in different ways, but by April 2027 they will all need to decide how to absorb the additional cost while remaining competitive in one of Europe’s most established betting markets.
The question for 2027: How will operators adapt to the higher cost of running a remote sportsbook in Britain?
Germany: Will Higher Slot Stakes Help the Regulated Market?
Germany enters 2027 midway through an important temporary regulatory measure.
Under the Glücksspielstaatsvertrag 2021, the standard maximum stake for licensed online slots is €1 per spin.
Since 1 July 2026, however, the GGL has allowed operators to increase that limit for eligible customers under additional safeguards.
Players aged 21 and over can qualify for higher stakes, while those wishing to stake between €3 and €5 must undergo additional behavioural monitoring and successfully complete a 90-day qualification period without displaying indicators of problematic gambling.
Crucially, the higher-stakes arrangement is currently only authorised until 31 December 2027.
That gives the industry and regulators a clear point at which to assess what happens next.
Channelisation is likely to form an important part of the wider debate. A GGL-commissioned study published in 2026 estimated that 77.03% of Germany’s online gambling market was channelled through regulated operators, leaving 22.97% with unlicensed providers.
The GGL said those findings would feed into the continuing evaluation of Germany’s gambling framework and discussions with the federal states over whether regulatory adjustments are required.
That makes the higher-stakes arrangement particularly interesting.
Allowing selected players greater flexibility could make the regulated product more competitive. But regulators will also want evidence that any changes can be made without weakening player protection.
Operators participating in the system therefore have a valuable opportunity to generate data on player behaviour, higher-stakes usage and the effectiveness of additional monitoring.
The question for 2027: Can greater product flexibility improve the appeal of Germany’s regulated online casino market while maintaining its player-protection objectives?
Spain: What Comes Out of the Gambling Act Review?
Not every important regulatory development already has a confirmed implementation date.
In Spain, 2027 could instead be shaped by the outcome of a regulatory review that began the previous year.
In May 2026, the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ) opened a public consultation on reforming Spain’s Gambling Regulation Law, which has governed the national online gambling market since 2011.
Among the areas highlighted were the use of celebrities and influencers in gambling advertising, customer-acquisition promotions, organic search advertising and stronger measures against illegal gambling.
The regulator subsequently received more than 50 submissions and began meeting industry bodies and other stakeholders before preparing the new legislative text.
For operators and affiliates, this uncertainty is important.
Advertising and customer acquisition are already tightly regulated in Spain. Any further changes affecting promotions, influencer marketing or online visibility could require businesses to reconsider how they attract customers.
Companies operating in Spain should therefore be following the reform process closely during 2027 rather than waiting for final legislation before assessing its commercial impact.
The question for 2027: Which proposals from Spain’s review will make it into the proposed version of the Gambling Regulation Law, and how will they change customer acquisition?
Netherlands: The Next Wave of Licence Renewals Arrives
The Netherlands is entering a new phase of its regulated online gambling market.
Online gambling only opened in October 2021, with licences issued for five-year periods. The first five-year licences issued ahead of the market’s launch expired on 1 October 2026, meaning the renewal cycle is already underway as the market enters 2027.
And renewal is not simply a case of extending an existing licence.
Under new licensing rules introduced in 2026, applicants must provide additional information, including an exit plan setting out how their gambling offer would be wound down if their licence ended.
For existing operators, the KSA can also look back at breaches during the previous licence period and assess what the business has done to prevent them happening again.
That matters because the Dutch market has changed considerably since opening in 2021, with new rules introduced around advertising, sponsorship and player protection.
Operators seeking another licence are therefore being assessed not only on whether they meet the requirements today, but also on how they have operated during their first years in the market.
For businesses approaching renewal in 2027, compliance history will consequently become increasingly important.
The question for 2027: What will the first major round of licence renewals tell us about the standards the KSA expects from established operators?
Ireland: A New Regulatory System Continues to Take Shape
Ireland’s regulatory story is less about one deadline and more about completing a major structural transition.
Historically, gambling regulation was spread across several authorities and licensing systems, without a single dedicated regulator overseeing the sector.
That began to change with the Gambling Regulation Act 2024 and the establishment of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) in March 2025.
The regulator opened applications for remote and in-person betting licences in February 2026, marking the beginning of a phased transition to the new regime.
Other parts of the market are still being brought across.
The GRAI has said it is taking a phased approach to gaming, lottery and B2B licensing, with some existing licences continuing under previous arrangements while the transition is completed.
Its 2025–2027 strategy also identifies licensing, monitoring, enforcement, consumer protection and digital regulation as core priorities.
For companies operating in Ireland, 2027 will therefore be about watching that framework move from creation into day-to-day regulation.
That means keeping track of which licence categories move into the new system next, how the GRAI approaches compliance and enforcement, and what businesses will need to do to meet new advertising and player-protection requirements.
The question for 2027: How far will Ireland have moved towards a fully operational, centralised gambling regulatory system by the end of the year?
What Should European Operators Be Watching in 2027?
There will be no single European regulatory story in 2027.
Finland is opening a market. Great Britain is raising taxes. Germany is testing whether one of its most restrictive product rules can be made more flexible. Spain is considering how a 15-year-old gambling law should adapt to the modern online market.
The Netherlands is asking established licensees to prove they deserve another five years, while Ireland is still constructing the regulatory infrastructure that will govern its market for years to come.
For gambling businesses, the common thread is preparation.
Regulatory change can alter who is able to enter a market, which products can be offered, how customers can be acquired and whether the economics of operating in a country still make sense.
In some jurisdictions, the deadline is already on the calendar. In others, the biggest changes are still being shaped through consultations, evaluations and regulatory decisions.
That is why understanding Europe’s regulatory landscape increasingly means looking forward rather than simply understanding the rules that apply today.
SBC Summit Europe, taking place from 19–21 April 2027 at RAI Amsterdam, will bring operators, regulators, suppliers, affiliates and other stakeholders together as the industry prepares for the next stage of regulatory change across the continent.
What is SBC Summit Europe?
SBC Summit Europe is the Home of European iGaming, with regulated markets at its heart. It is the annual meeting place for the people leading, regulating and building European gaming.
When and where does it take place?
19-21 April 2027 at RAI Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Who will be there?
Around 8,000 attendees are expected, including more than 3,000 licensed operator representatives. They will be joined by regulators, policymakers, industry associations, legal experts, suppliers, affiliates, investors and media. SBC Summit Europe attendee overview.
What is the main focus of SBC Summit Europe?
SBC Summit Europe is where the people running, regulating and building licensed markets finally share a room. Regulators and policymakers join the conversation directly, alongside licensed operators, who sit at the heart of the event with more than 3,000 operator representatives expected. Networking is as much a priority as education, so the programme is built to turn insight into conversations, relationships and commercial outcomes that would be hard to arrange any other way. Partnerships with IAGR and IMGL, alongside relationships with regulatory bodies and industry associations, are bringing gaming authority representatives from across Europe to Amsterdam.
What topics will be covered?
Channelisation and black-market competition, taxation, advertising restrictions, player protection and affordability, licensing and compliance, and the impact of new technology and AI. The programme will also cover compliance technology, payments, sports betting platforms and data, casino, marketing and changing player behaviour. Check the SBC Summit conference agenda.
Is the event focused on one market or on Europe as a whole?
Both. Dedicated sessions explore individual jurisdictions in detail, while broader discussions look at the trends and lessons that apply across borders.
How can I get a pass?
Operators, regulators, and qualifying affiliates can apply for complimentary passes. For everyone else, registration will open soon. For now, register your interest for SBC Summit Europe.
