"Anticipate, Fight, Forward Looking": EL, WLA and ULIS unite against illegal gambling

The seminar provided lottery operators, regulators, sports organisations, law enforcement, academics and integrity experts with an opportunity to exchange knowledge and explore practical ways to address current challenges while anticipating the evolving threats facing the lottery, sports betting and wider sports ecosystem.

Built around three themes - anticipating risk, fighting the illegal market, and looking forward to tomorrow's threats, the programme relected a shared vision that protecting consumers, safeguarding sports integrity and highlighting the vital role of national lottery funding for society requires stronger cooperation, better intelligence and coordinated enforcement. 

Anticipate: understanding risk before it materialises

The opening sessions focused on understanding emerging risks before they become operational challenges. Fabien Maréchal, Head of Corporate Cybersecurity, FDJ United & Executive Chair of the EL Community of Experts on Security, Risk and IT, highlighted the WLA Risk Management Framework and Jérémy Couture, Head of Lottery Cybersecurity, FDJ United focused on cybersecurity and betting systems. Both presentations demonstrated how operators can identify and manage risks across their technology, operations and betting markets. Christian Kalb explored prediction markets and emerging betting models, which he described as "a new name for an old product," essentially a betting exchange operating under a different legal framework.

A high-level roundtable, moderated by Christina Swan (ULIS)  brought together representatives of the International Olympic Committee, UEFA, FIFA, Interpol, and the Council of Europe (CoE). The discussions reinforced one key message: maintaining integrity requires strong alignment between prevention, detection, reporting, investigation, and legal dimensions of the fight against competition manipulation. No single organisation can address match-fixing alone, and the exchange of information between sport, lotteries and law enforcement remains decisive.

Fight: measuring and disrupting the illegal market

Building on the discussions around current threats, the Seminar shifted its focus towards operational enforcement. Nicolas Sayde, Head of the Macolin Convention at the CoE, outlined how the Convention distinguishes legal from illegal betting, providing the common legal framework that underpins international cooperation.

Discussions also explored the challenge of understanding and measuring illegal gambling markets. Experts agreed that credible data and transparent methodologies are essential to support effective enforcement and evidence-based policymaking. Professor Stefano Caneppele (University of Lausanne), Daniel Grabher (Mediastream), and David Henwood (H2 Gambling Capital) each presented different perspectives on estimating the scale of illegal gambling, highlighting both the complexity of the task and the importance of reliable data. Christian Kalb (CK Consulting) also highlighted the close relationship between channelisation rates and effective enforcement, noting that illegal gambling is inherently difficult to measure as transactions are concealed across multiple channels and published estimates often vary significantly. 

Discussions concluded that measurement and enforcement reinforce one another, with Interpol underlining that prosecution depends on partners sharing reliable data.

Forward looking: preparing for tomorrow's threats

The Seminar concluded by looking ahead to future challenges. Research presented by Ali Kadiri Hassani, La Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports (MDJS), conducted with the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS), demonstrated the increasingly sophisticated financial and criminal structures supporting illegal platforms. The study reinforced that "the fight against illegal sports betting cannot be won through isolated actions" and that "enforcement must be supported by intelligence, cooperation, and a shared understanding of the system."

Luca Esposito, WLA Executive Director outlined WLA’s position on prediction markets, stressing that whatever language is used, "it is a bet, no matter what we call it," and that the spread of such products, including Meta's announced entry, places at risk the funds lotteries return to good causes.

Participants also explored how AI is transforming both threats and responses. A live demonstration of the ULIS OSI platform, illustrated how AI is being used to detect anomalies across betting and exchange markets in real time, including inconsistencies between markets that a manual review would miss.

A shared vision for Europe

Closing the Seminar, EL Secretary General Piet Van Baeveghem underlined that Europe has a clear vision for addressing illegal gambling: "Fighting illegal gambling requires legal clarity, coordinated action, and effective tools, and sports integrity starts with ensuring that betting activity is well-regulated."

It was stressed that illegal gambling is fundamentally a regulatory and law enforcement challenge requiring close collaboration between all relevant stakeholders. Measures such as payment and website blocking, alongside stronger digital enforcement, will become increasingly effective as cooperation develops. Piet summarised EL's priorities as continuing to share knowledge and best practices, expanding the White Bullet pilot project, supporting enforcement within the existing European legal framework, raising awareness among stakeholders, promoting effective blocking measures, and building broader sector-wide alliances.

Jean-Luc Moner-Banet, President of ULIS and CEO of Loterie Romande, traced the globalisation of the lottery monitoring system since 2012 and set out four priorities for the years ahead, monitoring, membership, education, and communication, before leaving the audience with a single word: "if there is one word I would leave you with, it is Macolin," the only international convention that defines illegal gaming.