Biggest Gambling Companies In Europe

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The other day, I was reminded of how ignorant some cocky Silicon Valley aficionados can be when it comes to the rest of the world, when one of our posts hit Hacker News and promptly garnered a comment to the tune of 'seriously, does Europe have any tech companies other than Skype and maybe Spotify? I can't name any others lol.'

It was amusing at first, because there are of course many more, and perhaps this person was simply trolling. Besides, many in Silicon Valley and other places around the world are well aware that there are plenty of excellent and fast-growing tech companies coming out of Europe. Being able to name but two is a testament of one's stupidity, at best.

The more I thought about it, though, the more I figured it was part of our mission here at Tech.eu to give people some insights about what's happening here in Europe.

We're not looking to become uncritical cheerleaders, and we'll be the first to point out that the European technology industry has many crosses to bear and mountains left to climb, but we would like to set the record straight and hopefully open some eyes here and there.

While it's most definitely true that Europe has been unable to produce many global tech behemoths the size of SAP, and that you'll have to look elsewhere to find the companies owning the major platforms and networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), we'll be happy to challenge any assumptions you may have. Just so that next time someone says he or she can't name more interesting tech companies in Europe than there are fingers on their hands, you have somewhere to direct them to.

We'll even do you a favour and leave out most of the publicly-listed European tech giants like Yandex (Russia), Nokia (Finland), Opera Software (Norway), Mail.ru (Russia), Criteo (France), Ericsson (Sweden), StoneSoft (Finland - now part of McAfee), AVG Technologies (Czech Republic / The Netherlands), bwin.party (Gibraltar/UK) and F-Secure (Finland). Let's pretend they don't count.

Playtime in Europe

So you've heard of Spotify. Well, at least that's a start. What about music streaming rival Deezer (France), which may or not become available in the United States next year but has meanwhile managed to attract over 12 million users - 5 million of which are paid subscribers?

Or what about SoundCloud (Germany), the increasingly popular service for sharing all things audio, with more than 200 million users? Or Songkick (UK), which lets millions of people track their favourite bands and artists, and provides them with personalized news about live music events?

Or maybe you're one of the 400 million+ people around the world who've used Shazam (UK) to tag songs heard you've on the radio or television? Maybe you discovered a ton of new music on Last.fm (UK), or moved on to much younger, fresher services for that purpose, to places like Rushmore.fm (UK), Soundwave (Ireland), 3Plet (Estonia/Russia), Soundrop (Norway), or Mixcloud (UK).

Perhaps you're more into games, though. That's cool.

Are you a Minecraft fan? You can thank indie video game developer Mojang (Sweden) for that one.

Or do you prefer playing games on Facebook, your tablet or smartphone? Then you may have heard of Angry Birds, made by Rovio (Finland); or Candy Crush Saga, made by King (Sweden); or Diamond Dash, made by Wooga (Germany); or Clash Of Clans, made by Supercell (Finland); or Cut The Rope, made by Zeptolab (Russia/UK); or Dragon City, made by Social Point (Spain); or Total Domination, made by Plarium (Israel); or Criminal Case, made by Pretty Simple Games (France); or Rummi Plus, made by Peak Games (Turkey); or Top Eleven, made by Nordeus (Serbia); or Talking Tom, made by Outfit7 (Slovenia/Cyprus); or Subway Surfers, made by Kiloo (Denmark); or ...

To wit, the list goes on and on, and these aren't companies mucking about somewhere in the margins: they are some of the most successful developers on the Facebook platform, and among the makers of the highest-grossing games on the iOS App Store and Google Play.

And then there are the online betting, gambling and social casino games companies in Europe, many of which are growing like crazy. It would be nearly impossible to list all of them, but take a look at Betfair, Plumbee (UK), Akamon (Spain), Betable (UK) and Ongame (Gibraltar) for starters.

And let's not forget Mind Candy (UK), whose Moshi Monsters world has attracted more than 80 million registered users (and the company's just getting started when it comes to entertainment).

But perhaps you're more into video. Well, then meet Dailymotion (France), which attracted over 112 million unique monthly visitors and served more than 2,5 billion videos views worldwide last time it shared statistics (nearly a year ago). It's no YouTube, but it's nothing to sneeze at, either.

Up next: keep an eye on Voddler (Sweden), Streamnation (Luxembourg) and Magine (Sweden), just to name a few interesting companies in the media consumption and cataloguing space.

Largest Gambling Companies In Europe

It's not just fun and games

Setting aside entertainment, let's take a look at what Europe has to offer on the business front.

In the enterprise file sharing and team collaboration space, there's Huddle (UK), which has over 100,000 organizations using its software today, and its lesser-known but fast-growing rivals Teambox (Spain) and Flowdock (Finland), while Podio (Denmark) continues to grow under Citrix's wings.

Then there are product management tools like Blossom (UK) and Readdle (Ukraine), great software that helps your organize your life like 6Wunderkinder (Germany) and Any.do (Israel), services that lets your organize and communicate within groups, such as GroupSpaces (UK), and solutions for connecting and integrating business-oriented applications like CloudWork.

There are applications like Datahug (Ireland), which helps people inside organizations better visualize and leverage relationships, and cool tools like Traity (Spain) that helps people measure and share their reputation. Apps like doo (Germany) let people find and access documents across platforms.

There are website-building service providers used by millions of businesses and people every month, such as Wix (Israel), which recently went public, and Jimdo (Germany) which has managed to compete against them and a host of other rivals with a mere $500,000 in funding.

There's also InvisibleCRM (Ukraine), an enterprise application integrator that has designed and delivered solutions for Salesforce, Oracle, NetSuite, EMC Documentum and many more.

Riding the waves

Let's look at 3D printing, one of the major tech trends of the hour, and you'll find companies like Materialise (Belgium - see our profile), iMakr (UK), 3D Hubs (The Netherlands), GrabCAD (Estonia) and Leapfrog (The Netherlands). This is anything but anecdotal, by the way - some reports in fact predict that Europe could become the world leader in 3D printing by 2020.

That other trend, connecting everything to the cloud? If you're interested, you're well-advised to keep track of companies like Option (Belgium), Gemalto (The Netherlands) and startups like Tado (Germany), Cloud Your Car (Poland), BERG Cloud (UK), Libelium (Spain) and Lock8 (UK).

Oh, and that other continuing tech trend, motion sensoring and gesture-controlled systems and interfaces? Israel has spawned not one but two innovative companies in this space that have been acquired (Omek Interactive by Intel, and PrimeSense by Apple) and we have an eye squarely fixed on SoftKinetic (Belgium) for a potential future strategic purchase.

You may have heard personal activity and health trackers are hot these days. Well, we're keeping our good eye on Withings (France), which is building and shipping Wi-Fi enabled body scales and baby monitors, alongside smart heart rate and activity tracking devices.

Of course, there are more 'lean hardware' and robotics companies in Europe, including Valkee (Finland), CubeSensors (Slovenia), Narrative (Sweden), Jolla (Finland) and Geeksphone (Spain).

Buying and selling online

E-commerce is another oft-ignored strongpoint of many a European tech company.

Just look at the online payment and store solutions provided by the likes of Klarna (Sweden), GoCardless (UK), Adyen (The Netherlands), Leetchi (France) and Paymill (Germany), or mobile payment products such as iZettle (Sweden), SumUp (Germany) and payleven (Germany), or services that let anyone launch their online store in minutes, such as Tictail and Osom (Sweden).

Or what about Avangate (Romania), which helps software makers and SaaS companies sell to and invoice customers online, and was just acquired by a U.S.-based private equity firm?

It's not just service providers, either: I wonder how many people are aware of the size of the likes of Ozon (Russia), ASOS (UK), Zalando (Germany), Net-a-Porter (UK) and Spartoo (France), to name but a few, or the growth potential of sites like Bottica (UK), Navabi (Germany) and Shoply.

That whole flash sales e-commerce model that has blown up in recent years? Vente-Privée.com (France) pioneered that, thank you very much, and there are a ton of companies building massive businesses in their respective home markets: check out KupiVIP (Russia), Markafoni (Turkey), modnaKasta (Ukraine) and Privalia (Spain) for some examples.

Meanwhile, so-called 'conversational marketing' technology provider Neolane (France) was recently acquired by Adobe Systems for $600 million.

Other innovators you may have heard of

- Ever heard of Nginx (Russia)? It powers roughly 1 out of 7 websites today, which makes it the number 2 web server on the planet. That's right, ahead of Microsoft-IIS.

- Are you building stuff with Raspberry Pi (UK) yet? Or maybe you'll jump straight to build-your-own-computer kit Kano (UK)?

- Community-based traffic and navigation app Waze has many users, but also many suitors: it was finally picked up by Google for more than $1 billion.

- Perhaps you've used travel search site Skyscanner (Scotland) to research and/or book a trip? The company is growing fast, and recently raised funding from Sequoia Capital at a $800 million valuation.

- Scientists and researchers are known to frequent ResearchGate (Germany) and Mendeley (UK).

- Into ebooks? Trust me, give 24symbols (Spain) and Readmill (Germany) a whirl.

- Did you know Kaspersky Lab (Russia) provides IT security solutions to over 300 million users and over 250,000 corporate clients worldwide?

- Ever used Prezi (Hungary) to spice up your presentation decks?

- Replaced your Android phone's stock keyboard with the SwiftKey (UK) app yet?

- Are you one of the dozens of millions of people using Viber (Israel/Cyprus) to message and call your friends free of charge?

- Farming may be none of your business, but Farmeron (Croatia) is turning it into a big business for them with their cloud-based farm management software products.

- In the fashion business? You might want to check out EDITD (UK) for your big data needs.

- Before the sharing economy was even a thing, Fon (Spain) was already trying to create a global free Wi-Fi network by letting people share their wireless Internet connections with others.

- Ever needed to transfer money to another country? Who needs banks - let me introduce you to TransferWise (Estonia/UK) and Kantox (Spain), my friends. Speaking of banks - don't be surprised if they're warily eyeing the progress Holvi (Finland) is making these days.

- Into social networking, social media marketing and data? Check out Socialbakers (Czech Republic), Brandwatch (UK), Engagor (Belgium), Badoo (UK), Tuenti (Spain) and Falcon Social (Denmark).

- Tired of Instagram yet? There are millions of people using alternative app EyeEm (Berlin).

Conclusion

Europe is terribly fragmented, and it's hard to see the forest for the trees sometimes. But this shouldn't be an excuse for anything to call the continent a giant wasteland for technology companies.

If you care to look, there are software and hardware pioneers, innovators and fast-growing tech startups in exciting spaces aplenty all across Europe. Heck, I've listed and linked to roughly 120 of them above, and this is only a fraction of what you can find if take a looking glass across the many regions that make up the European continent.

Evidently, this list is anything but exhaustive. There are many innovative and big technology companies missing from the list. Guess what: that's the point. Nevertheless, feel free to indicate which ones you would also include above - the comment floor is yours.

Oh, and seriously: next time someone tells you they don't know of any European tech companies apart from Skype, Spotify and 'that company that made Angry Birds', kindly share this article with him or her.

Featured image credit: Edel Puntonet / Shutterstock

In Europe, gambling regulations and the legality of various games can be somewhat confusing. The European Union’s laws give companies the right to provide services to other EU countries, which once prevented Italy from banning online gambling entirely. However, while the treaty prevents a complete ban, each state has autonomy concerning their laws, industry regulations, and which activities are legal.

To save you the hassle of finding legal sites in your region, we’ve listed the best European online gambling sites. Not only will our recommendations keep you safe from scams and poorly-run operations, but we’ll also break down which forms of gambling are legalized in the different jurisdictions and how they are run.

The Best European Online Gambling Sites

The gambling sites included in this list of recommendations have been thoroughly vetted for legitimacy, reliability, variety, and several other factors that we will cover shortly. Our team of experts is continuously finding additional websites to review, which they then decide whether or not to pass along to our readership. It’s a lot of time-consuming work, but it’s worth it to know we’re helping set fellow gamblers up with the best European online gambling sites in the industry.

This page will serve two primary purposes for the reader. First, we will explain what criteria are required to be a premier gambling site and demonstrate the reason we prioritize specific factors. Then, we’ll further examine the legal status of online gaming throughout various countries in Europe and share which forms of gambling are allowed and where.

When you’re done on this page, you’ll not only know which gambling services you’re legally entitled to in your region, but you’ll also be armed with a list of the very best online gambling sites for Europeans.

What Makes a Gambling Site One of the “Best”?

When our experts decide to review a website, they comb through the site’s history, research industry blacklists, study terms and conditions, and generally do a deep dive into the works of the operation. We take everything into account so that we may keep our promise of only delivering the best European online gambling sites. The following are some of the essential characteristics we require for our readers.

Legitimacy and Safety

Hundreds of billions of dollars are wagered online annually, with that number steadily growing each year. Such massive sums of money are an obvious target for thieves and unethical entrepreneurs hoping to profit off of the public’s ignorance concerning gambling website legitimacy. There’s nothing we take more seriously than keeping our readers out of harm’s way from scammers, which is why safety is our highest priority when ranking a site.

By combing through a company’s history, we can learn about any alarming issues or patterns of behavior that raise red flags. For example, having a poor reputation with regards to payout timelines would be a significant problem. Furthermore, websites that have landed on blacklists in the past are filtered out from our recommendations.

Some places set unreasonably low withdrawal limits or are known to find reasons to delay payouts in the hopes that their customers will get bored and spend the cash on the site while waiting on their withdrawal. That’s the type of business practice we are here to help you avoid, as it’s certainly not a trait of one of the best European online gambling sites.

Variety

Biggest Gambling Companies In Europe Countries

If you were ranking the many benefits online gambling has over traditional brick-and-mortar casinos, the ability to provide exponentially more diversity would be at the top of the list. With land-based locations, there’s only so much floor space, not to mention the costs of employing operators and paying utility costs. Online operations can offer you thousands of individual slot themes, dozens of variations of traditional table games, every set of video poker rules, and a full sportsbook all in one place!

This is an excellent quality because it prevents boredom from setting in, thus keeping the players entertained and engaged. If you get tired of playing computer-dealt blackjack, you have the option to switch to a live dealer, for instance. Slot players aren’t given much to do in the way of strategy or input, so for them, having a vast selection of different themes with all types of jackpots and side games is crucial.

Since you’re going to be depositing your precious money into an account with whichever top European online gambling site you choose, the last thing we want to happen is for you to lose interest. Our experts have found that the gambling websites with the most extensive collection of games and wagering types tend to provide the greatest customer satisfaction. And that’s why variety plays a vital role in our rankings.

Quality Website and Games

The central purpose of LegitGamblingSites.com is to match our readers with online gambling sites that will best meet their needs while providing reliable, trustworthy service. It’s important to us that the websites we recommend are professional, easy to use, and consistently operational.

When sports betting, there are times when a bettor must submit their pick quickly before the contest starts and the odds are pulled from the board. We don’t want our customers missing opportunities due to a poorly-designed site. Everything should be clearly labeled, logically organized, and easy to find.

We also take graphic quality into consideration. For some of the slot games, high-quality animations and artwork are what make the games enjoyable for players. There are tons of slots based on popular television shows and favorite movies which include lots of interactivity and video clips. When we give a recommendation to our readers, we expect that these aesthetically enjoyable options will run smoothly.

Banking Methods

It’s always a good thing to have multiple options, especially as it pertains to banking methods available when online gambling. First of all, different patrons will require different accommodations, so by casting a wider net, more customers are satisfied. But beyond the convenience that comes with variety, having several different ways of funding or withdrawing from your account is critical in places such as Europe, where the laws are somewhat inconsistent from region to region.

If you take the United States, for example, they’re allowed to gamble online as individuals, but the financial institutions are legally barred from processing transactions between customers and known gambling operations. That means US players’ debit and credit cards are not an option, so Bitcoin, e-wallets, and various gift cards must be used instead.

Depending on the European country, some readers may not want to connect their banking info directly to their online casino. Meanwhile, within the United Kingdom, gambling is fully legalized and regulated, so customers from that area may prefer transfers directly to and from their checking account. It just depends on what restrictions you’re working around or if there are any at all.

Reliable Customer Service

Few things are more frustrating than having an issue that needs resolving and not being able to get anyone to help. Poor customer service completely taints your opinion of a service or product, and rightly so. Therefore, if we’re working to present only the best European online gambling sites to our readers, we must take customer service extremely seriously.

When reviewing a website’s customer service page, we first look for a clearly labeled, easy-to-find section. The customer service area should provide answers to frequently asked questions and provide information about the corporation and gambling site. Furthermore, there should be multiple methods of communication available, including email, telephone, and live chat.

Most crucially, the department in charge of these customer issues should be both responsive and helpful. Our experts test the levels of service by using the various forms of communication and timing how long it takes to get a response. We never want you to be stuck with a problem and nobody to turn to, which is why we put so much effort into ensuring this aspect of their business meets expectations.

Bonus Programs

You’ve probably noticed on our list of recommendations that the best European online gambling sites offer bonuses and rewards programs to entice new members. In most cases, gambling websites will offer free plays just for signing up, and once you make a deposit, they’ll match a percentage of the total. This can amount to quite a bit of free money, which is why bonuses have to be an ingredient in our overall rankings. However, be sure to read the conditions of accepting free money. There are times when the strings that are attached make the gift not worth taking.

Loyalty rewards programs are another story entirely and are almost always of some value. The types of perks for which you’re eligible will depend on the amount of money you regularly bet with, as well as the frequency. Some common rewards are cash back for a portion of your losses, free play credits, or merchandise from a company store.

The rewards that you’re given are directly proportionate to the value you present to the casino or sportsbook. For the high rollers, we’ve seen prizes as extravagant as exotic vacations and vehicles given out.

Advantages of Gambling Online

In many of the countries in Europe, land-based casinos and sportsbooks are readily available and accessible. This is particularly true in the United Kingdom. While having brick-and-mortar locations is indeed a nice perk to living in a jurisdiction with legalized gaming, it’s often an inferior choice compared to gambling online. In this section, we’ll share a few of the advantages of online gambling.

Better Odds

The thing about operating a land-based gambling operation is that there’s overhead. They have to pay for employees, electricity, rent or land costs, and a wide range of other expenses required to keep the doors open. These expenditures are passed on to the gamblers in the form of a house advantage that’s built into the odds.

The best European gambling sites don’t have such pricey overhead and thus can afford to give bettors much more favorable odds when playing their games. And when it comes to sports betting, there’s nothing more important than the betting lines. The slightest improvement in winning percentage can make a massive difference in long-term profits, which is why we always advise shopping for the best odds.

Convenience

The most significant advantage that online gambling sites have over their brick-and-mortar counterparts is convenience. Even in regions with legalized gambling locations, nothing is quicker and easier as it pertains to gambling than pulling out a smartphone and making your picks or playing some games. No matter how casual the local gaming spot may be, it will always require you to get dressed, travel to the place, and take time gambling in person.

With online options, especially those with mobile compatibility, everything on which you could possibly want to bet is right at your fingertips. This is hugely useful when betting on sports, as there are times where wagers must be submitted before the contest begins. You’re much less likely to travel to the sportsbook and get your picks set in time, but with the online bookmakers, as long as you have more than a few minutes, you’ll be fine.

Better Rewards Programs

If you’re accustomed to gambling at more traditional physical casinos, you’ve probably noticed they’ve never handed you any free cash just for walking in the door. That’s a practice that’s exclusive to online gambling sites and has become a bit of an industry standard practice. There are two kinds of common start-up bonuses:

• Sign-up bonus – The gift received just for opening an account usually consists of free play tokens or credits which allow you to test out the games and casino in general before depositing any actual money
• Deposit bonus – As the name suggests, this bonus is applied once you deposit money into your gambling account. These are almost always given out as a percentage of the initial funding of the account. Often, gambling sites will offer a 100% match, allowing you to double your money before placing a single bet

The land-based alternatives do offer loyalty rewards programs, but even they fall short of the online version. In a physical location, you have to keep a player’s card and remember to receive your points for any gambling done on the premises. Online, all activities are tracked automatically and attributed to your account. So, every bit of wagering you do will count towards prizes and rewards in the future.

More Options

Another department in which brick-and-mortar gambling businesses will never match the online gambling world is variety. You simply have way more options playing over the internet. Without concerns regarding floor space, the best European online gambling sites can employ thousands of slot machine themes, all sorts of table game varieties, and more sportsbook wagers than any land-based alternative.

A Brief Overview of the Gambling Laws in Europe

The United Kingdom

Gambling is entirely legal in the UK. Most of the top-rated online casinos and sportsbooks operate within their jurisdiction, which is heavily regulated and trusted. Gambling activities fall under the authority of the Gambling Commission, which approves gaming licenses and enacts consumer protections.

Spain

Spain has had legal gambling since 2011 when the Spanish Gambling Act was passed. Each of their seventeen regions has full autonomy over which gaming activities will be allowed and regulated by the government and which will not. Overall, Spanish gambling is overseen by the National Gambling Commission. Any online gambling sites hosted in the region must have a “.es” URL.

Italy

Italy initially tried to shut out gaming entirely within its borders, but this was challenged by the EU since they would be denying business to gambling sites operating out of other member nations. Italian residents are now free to access websites from outside of the country, while more gambling activities are now legal within the nation. Gambling is regulated by the AAMS, which provides licensing and consumer protection for the industry.

France

All forms of gambling have been legal in France since 2010. They created the Regulatory Authority for Online Games, which oversees the online gambling industry. Gambling is strictly regulated in France, similar to the UK, which makes licensing more difficult for operators but ensures a much safer industry for citizens to engage with.

Gambling Jurisdictions

Beyond the primary regulatory bodies within the major European Union countries, there are several highly-respected offshore jurisdictions which host numerous online gambling sites.

• Alderney – Alderney is widely respected for how seriously they take oversight and consumer protections. A popular gambling jurisdiction since 2000, the island in the British Channel is a popular region in which to host gaming websites
• Gibraltar – Gibraltar is one of the oldest online gambling jurisdictions, having begun regulating the industry back in 1998. They are approved by the UK’s Gambling Commission and are well respected around the globe as a legitimate jurisdiction
• The Isle of Man – The Isle of Man is also approved by the UK Gambling Commission, which has deemed it safe. Many UK websites are housed here, due to the effort this region puts into attracting online gambling corporations
• Malta – Malta is another British commonwealth that’s popular within online gambling circles. In fact, it’s one of the oldest and most-trusted areas for gaming in the world. They offer four different licenses for gambling businesses

In Conclusion

If you’re looking for the best European online gambling sites, it’s your lucky day because we’ve got you covered. When discussing gambling in the context of Europe, things can get a bit confusing. While each country is left to legislate and regulate the industry as they see fit within their borders, their hands are tied when it comes to an outright ban. This is due to a treaty signed by all participating members of the EU, in which they agreed not to prevent corporations from doing business across their borders.

The argument is that this applies to online gambling as well. Since there are licensed and regulated gambling sites operating from within several European jurisdictions, it would be breaking the treaty to prevent the citizens of a state from accessing and using such services. However, that doesn’t mean that all forms of online gaming are allowed everywhere.

For example, in Spain, live betting and bingo games are illegal, while other forms of online sports betting and casino games are just fine. In fact, each of Spain’s seventeen regions has the authority to treat gambling as they see fit, so even within country borders, the legalities may be inconsistent.

Germany won’t allow new operators into the market but have some older websites which have been grandfathered in. Additionally, German citizens may access foreign gambling sites from other EU jurisdictions.

All in all, gambling over the internet is a well-entrenched, thriving industry in Europe. Thanks to several members of the EU legalizing online gambling, the other countries have essentially been forced to allow their citizens to participate as well. At that point, it makes more sense to regulate gambling and collect some tax money than to watch all of those profits leave the region.

Wherever you’re located, our fundamental concerns are ensuring your safety and providing the best European online gambling sites the world has to offer. Our team of experts worked diligently to compile the list at the top of this page and will continue to vet and review websites for as long as people are enjoying gambling. Judging by the annual gambling numbers, we’ll be serving our readers for quite some time.