The European Gaming and Betting Association has welcomed a new pan-European standard designed to identify players showing signs of risky gambling behaviour.
The standard, known as EN 18144, was published on 31 May 2026 through national standardisation bodies of the European Committee for Standardisation.
It represents the first common voluntary baseline for detecting and responding to problem gambling behaviour across European operators.
EN 18144 sets out nine behavioural markers that operators can use to identify risky gambling patterns before they worsen or cause serious harm.
Those markers include changes in stake volume, deposit frequency, session duration, and the use of self-exclusion tools by players across their accounts.
The standard is grounded in research and has been designed to work alongside existing national regulations already in place across European territories.
The EGBA first proposed the initiative to the European Committee for Standardisation back in 2022, making this publication the result of a multi-year effort.
The standard received near-unanimous approval from national standardisation bodies in October 2025 before its formal publication the following year.
EGBA noted that most of its members already monitor all nine indicators and many have embedded them across the full breadth of their operations.
Maarten Haijer, EGBA secretary general, said: “This is an important milestone for player protection in Europe. When widely adopted, this voluntary standard will lead to earlier identification of risky play and, ultimately, better protection for players.”
Haijer added: “Our members are ahead of the curve on implementation – they are already applying many aspects of the standard and are committed to alignment across their European operations. We encourage other operators to adopt the standard and help raise the bar on player protection across Europe.”
Europe’s biggest online gambling operators backing the standard has been described by the EGBA as a significant step forward for player protection across the continent.
The association noted that in some markets, certain markers may not apply where they conflict with national law, and implementation will reflect local regulatory requirements in those territories.
