The iGaming industry's cost crisis has reached a tipping point. As of April 2026, the UK has entered the 40% era on iGaming taxes, joining France, Germany and Poland among Western Europe's most heavily taxed jurisdictions. Combined with escalating compliance, marketing and operational expenses, operators face unprecedented margin pressure that's forcing fundamental reassessments of platform strategies.
Against this backdrop, a contentious question emerges: do white label models retain any utility in an environment where every cost line faces scrutiny? EveryMatrix believes the answer lies not in abandoning the concept entirely, but in redefining it through what the company calls "turnkey delivery".
Strategic Pivot from White Labels
Richardt Funch, Global Commercial Director at EveryMatrix, argues that while traditional white labels may be diminishing, their core efficiency principles remain valuable when properly reimagined. His company's trajectory supports this thesis – EveryMatrix recorded its best-ever year for new turnkey business in 2025/2026 across 18 years of operations of operations.
"White labels have been around for some time but are far less common today. We decided to relinquish our operating licenses in the UK and Denmark in 2019 to focus on advanced platform technology via turnkey delivery."
— Richardt Funch, Global Commercial Director, EveryMatrix
This strategic shift in 2019 proved prescient. Rather than maintaining the regulatory overhead of operating licenses, EveryMatrix repositioned itself as a technology provider, working with what Funch describes as "some of the largest regulated tier-1 operators and lotteries in the world".
40%
UK iGaming Tax Rate (April 2026)
18
Years of EveryMatrix Operations
2019
Year EveryMatrix Relinquished UK/Denmark Licenses
2025/2026
EveryMatrix's Best Year for Turnkey Business
Beyond Cookie-Cutter Solutions
The company's approach challenges the industry's dismissal of white label models as inherently flawed. While acknowledging that traditional white labels represented a "cookie-cutter approach that has been proven to no longer work in regulated markets", Funch advocates for bespoke turnkey solutions tailored to individual operator needs.
The question is no longer whether white label works, but whether elements of its efficiency can be repackaged into something more sustainable.
"White labels may sometimes offer quick wins, but rarely do they offer more than that, compared to turnkey delivery that offers a long-term, sustainable approach enabling consistent growth."
— Richardt Funch, Global Commercial Director, EveryMatrix
This philosophy underpins what EveryMatrix terms the "EveryMatrix Effect" – a shift toward optimised delivery of customised solutions that prioritise long-term sustainability over immediate deployment advantages.
The Margin Control Imperative
The current environment makes margin control paramount. Operators contend with not only the UK's elevated tax burden but rising costs across customer acquisition, compliance infrastructure, social responsibility programmes and customer service operations. These pressures have compressed operating margins industry-wide, forcing executives to scrutinise every aspect of their value chains.
EveryMatrix positions its turnkey approach as addressing this challenge through optimised core service delivery. The company frames its model as enabling "consistent growth" while maintaining cost efficiency – a proposition that has resonated with tier-1 operators seeking alternatives to both in-house development and traditional white label solutions.
Warning
The UK's move to 40% tax rates places it among the highest-taxed Western European markets, joining France, Germany and Poland. Operators expanding into these jurisdictions must factor this substantial revenue reduction into their platform investment calculations and ROI projections.
Market Implications for Platform Strategy
EveryMatrix's success suggests that cost-conscious operators are increasingly receptive to hybrid approaches that combine platform efficiency with operational flexibility. The company's emphasis on "advanced platform technology" via turnkey delivery represents a middle ground between full platform ownership and traditional white label dependency.
This trend reflects broader industry dynamics where regulatory complexity and operational costs are reshaping technology procurement decisions. Operators must balance control requirements with cost management, creating opportunities for providers who can deliver customised solutions without the overhead traditionally associated with white label models. The sustainability of this approach will ultimately depend on whether turnkey delivery can maintain operational efficiency while accommodating the regulatory and competitive demands that originally drove the industry away from standardised white label solutions.
Platform Selection Strategy
When evaluating turnkey versus white label solutions, operators should assess provider regulatory footprints carefully. EveryMatrix's 2019 license relinquishment demonstrates how technology-focused providers can reduce regulatory overhead while maintaining tier-1 partnerships through pure technology delivery models.
