Greece has filed criminal complaints against 18 social media influencers for promoting illegal gambling, Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis has said, disclosing that about €1.8 billion was wagered on the illegal market last year.
Speaking at the Hellenic Gaming Commission, Mr. Pierrakakis said about 900,000 people took part in illegal games in 2025 and about 15,000 websites were blacklisted.
The influencer cases are in preliminary investigation.
"The internet is not a jungle," he said. "Popularity does not offer immunity, and influence carries responsibility."
Anyone promoting illegal gambling will be identified, checked and face the legal consequences, he said.
He called the market both a social and an economic problem: hundreds of thousands of people exposed to harm, especially younger users targeted by aggressive online promotion, while the state loses revenue and licensed operators are undercut.
Authorities are using artificial intelligence to detect illegal networks, sites and promotion channels, then block them with the telecom regulator and internet providers.
"Technology cannot work as a shield for illegality," he said, adding that the state should not wait for complaints before acting.
The figures are higher than earlier estimates.
In 2024, the commission found nearly 800,000 people gambled illegally in a market worth about €1.7 billion.
New rules set fines of €5,000 to €50,000 per violation for influencers and advertisers promoting unlicensed operators, and prison terms for those running illegal games.