The safer bet for UK gambling

The majority of UK gambling is undertaken safely and responsibly. But regulators face a challenge to keep players safe against the changing tide of black market gambling.

Our new report by our economists Andrew Leicester, Mark Johnson, Eli Daniels, Richard Bradley, Adam Murawski and Amy Siriyatorn finds a conservative estimate of £2.7bn being staked on the online black market each year, based on new survey evidence of 6,000 people that examines whether, and how, they access unregulated or ‘black market’ gambling.

By its nature, the ‘black market’ is hard to assess accurately.  But it’s important to try – and to build good evidence in what it is a critical area for the industry.  Our report finds:

  • there is already wide awareness amongst players, with 1 in 6 players recognising at least one unregulated operator
  • 1 in 12 players go on to use black market sites or social media / messaging platforms for some or all of their online gambling
  • There are particular spikes in younger, and higher spending players, who are more likely to use these channels than others.

Our Associate Director of Policy Andrew Leicester observes that:

“This report shows that most gambling today is done through regulated, visible channels.  That is good news.

But there are warning signs. The landscape is evolving quickly in ways that suggest black market gambling is getting easier to find and access. This report provides timely new evidence on the scale of the black market. Efforts to make gambling safer are important, but must avoid the risk of simply pushing more players and spend into unregulated providers who do not need to comply with regulations around safer play.”

Commissioned by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), this analysis adds to an evidence base that allows regulators to enact vital change on this issue.

Download our full report The size and economic costs of black market gambling in Great Britain from the BGC website.