In a statement, EGBA called gambling websites an “increasingly lucrative target” for criminals, citing a report from cybersecurity firm Imperva which found that automated threats accounted for 28% of all global traffic to gambling sites in 2020.

And cybersecurity becomes an even more pressing issue during major sporting events. The European football championships in 2021 saw cyber threats increase 96% year-on-year, with UK and German websites most targeted, said EGBA.

Against this backdrop, the association’s new expert group will support and coordinate members’ efforts to combat these rising cybersecurity threats.

“We have launched this expert group to encourage and establish a much-needed platform for cross-industry cooperation on cybersecurity issues,” said Maarten Haijer, EGBA Secretary General.

“Cyber criminals are increasingly determined and sophisticated in their efforts to try to hack into gambling websites to steal customer data and money.”

The group will enable members to share information about the latest cyber threats and attacks, cooperate to track and resolve incidents, identify and solve security vulnerabilities and implement the latest best practices in cybersecurity.

It comprises cybersecurity experts from EGBA members, with participation to the group open to non-member operators, provided they comply with a number of cybersecurity and data standards.

Haijer added: “Cyber threats tend to be cross-border in nature, affect operators in the same ways and are a common threat to the industry.

“That’s why it is crucially important that operators work closer together to strengthen cybersecurity protocols and procedures, find common solutions to the latest threats and security vulnerabilities and implement the highest security standards.”