On May 31, 2026, EN 18144 was published through national standardisation bodies linked to the European Committee for Standardization. It does not represent new gambling legislation by the EU. Instead, it is a voluntary standard to help identify behavior that may indicate risky or problem gambling.
The online gambling sector in Europe continues to operate within national regulations. Operators are bound by different reporting duties, safer gambling mechanisms, and intervention thresholds in each country. The new EN 18144 standard does not take away this difference. Instead, it provides the industry with a common language for risk assessment.
What Operators Will Track
EN 18144 sets out nine behavioural indicators. These include a change in stake amount or frequency, increased rate or intensity of play, deposits, failed deposits, withdrawals, and cancelled withdrawals. The standard also covers indicators that do not directly involve spending:
- Player-initiated contact;
- Session length;
- Time-of-day play;
- Use of several gambling products;
- Net losses over time;
- Changes linked to safety tools (such as limits, breaks, and self-exclusion).
The purpose of this standard is not to treat any single behavior as a sign of potential harm. A cancelled withdrawal or a session at a certain time of day can have several explanations. The standard relies on patterns, risk assessment, and early behavioral review.
EGBA Members Move First
EGBA said that its members would align their player protection frameworks with the standard. It added that most of its members already measure all nine indicators and that many of them apply risk scoring to evaluate the behavior of players during gameplay.
This commitment provides EN 18144 with a pathway to implementation. The association noted that its members operate 321 online gambling licenses in 21 European nations and that they generate almost one-third of Europe’s online gambling gross gaming revenue.
This standard grew out of a proposal made by EGBA at the CEN process in 2022. Operators, national authorities, researchers, and other interested parties contributed to its creation. National standardization bodies overwhelmingly approved the standard in October 2025 before it was published in 2026.
A Baseline, Not a Single Rulebook
EN 18144 complements existing national regulatory frameworks. EGBA has also observed that there might be markers which do not necessarily apply to all jurisdictions if local law restricts certain data collection or analysis.
The standard should be viewed as a test of measurable safer gambling practice, rather than a new compliance badge. Regulators may still set their own rules, but a shared baseline gives them a clearer way to ask whether operators are detecting risk early enough.
