What the Next Round of CEF Digital Funding Means for iGaming

For years now, the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) has overseen funding into energy, transport and digital infrastructure. Near the end of 2024, the Digital branch of the CEF announced a new, second round of funding to the tune of €865 million. The infrastructure project aims to deliver high-speed internet to all Europeans before 2030, which should create fertile ground for a growing iGaming audience in Europe.

Source: Unsplash

Europe’s 2030 Digital Decade Goals

CEF Digital’s infrastructural investment is taking place in a broader context, specifically that of the EU’s 2030 Digital Decade goal. Like many ambitious plans for 2030, it lays out many different objectives that member states should try to achieve. One of them is that everyone – citizen or business – should have access to 5G and gigabit internet speeds.

Put simply, the EU is moving towards delivering some of the fastest internet possible today. If achieved, this should help online business boom, including ventures in the iGaming space. Some casino services require a faster internet connection, most notably livestreams where table games and game shows are broadcast. Those streams are hosted by reputable operators in the space, like Playtech and Evolution, with each room hosted by a dealer with a unique personality. Streams of live blackjack are popular because players can choose from a selection of lobbies that suit them, from free bets blackjack to unlimited blackjack tables where hundreds can play at once. If the average user in Europe gets better internet, they may be more willing to participate in these streams and other casino games. This is to say nothing of potential future products/services offered by the iGaming industry, which may necessitate even faster internet connections for users.

Infrastructure is just one of four dimensions covered in the 2030 Digital Decade goals, the others being skills, government, and business objectives. Alongside widespread 5G and gigabit connectivity, other goals include the development of the EU’s quantum flagship and increased semiconductor manufacturing, until 20% of the world’s supply comes out of the EU. While harder to predict, both of these developments would contribute to stronger tech-based economies in Europe’s long-term future.

The €865 Million Infrastructure Rollout

Between 2021 and 2023, CEF Digital launched its first Work Programme. This resulted in €420 million of investment to secure the EU’s digital future and make the first steps towards those aforementioned 2030 Digital Decade goals. Now, in 2025, the second Work Programme has begun, boasting more than double the funding at €865 million.

This second Work Programme will continue from late 2024 to 2027. Much like the first Work Programme, it’s possible that even more funds will get committed to the ongoing rollout from a larger budget of €2 billion. Then, after 2027, a potentially larger budget will get earmarked for the rest of the project. Presumably, a third and final Work Programme spanning 2028 to 2030 will launch to cover the last leg of infrastructural investments.

What This Means for iGaming

The EU’s digital infrastructure overhaul can benefit iGaming in two ways. We’ve already mentioned the first – users can get better access to the internet and to the services that call it home. Many benefits come from high-speed internet access, leading some experts to call for internet access to become a human right.

The second way is broader, impacting iGaming on an industrial scale by making business easier on the operators’ side. With more plentiful and advanced digital infrastructure, and the CEF’s other pursuits toward energy efficiency, operators could find more opportunities to host their websites and other services at cheaper costs. For example, the growing cost of data centres is a widely acknowledged issue, and iGaming services use them to host critical software, store user data, and deploy gaming experiences from a secure source.

Source: Pexels

A rising tide lifts all boats and, while there are other factors at play, the EU’s continued investment into digital infrastructure can only be a good thing for iGaming. As 2030 fast approaches, the industry should take advantage of a more connected, more digital Europe.