That’s roughly 2.1% of the £128bn earned by online operators which carry a license. The survey also showcases other important info, like the fact that around 0.8% of bettors are using only illegal gambling site, and 5.4% use both legal and illegal bookmakers. 

The study also shows that UK’s black market in the world of betting is spread over multiple avenues. We have underground casinos, street bookies, but also unregulated betting shops. When it comes to the online world, there are Telegram casinos, social media betting groups, offshore apps and websites, along with crypto casinos. 1 out of 6 UK gamblers knows of at least one illegal black market gambling website, and some of them regularly engage into these websites.

How much do gamblers spend on black market websites?

The aforementioned study only uses a conservative number, but the realistic numbers could be much higher than that. It focuses mostly on the online channels, with an estimated £1.6 billion being spent on black market, in-person gambling. Estimations suggest that the in-person black market is much larger than expected. 

Additionally, other factors like gambling via VPNs, messaging and social media can be hard to estimate. The survey also includes prominent online black market operators, but there are possibly many others, unknown or lesser-known black market operators that were not included. A new study, made by UKGC is set to arrive sometime in 2025, according to the latest information. The UKGC study will combine gambling behavior data along with web traffic data in an effort tot estimate the current grows gambling yield of the unlicensed gambling market.

What can countries like Ireland do to combat this issue?

As this issue has seen such huge growth in markets like the UK and Sweden, countries like Ireland have taken note and are working towards combatting illegal gambling. The UK has the UKGCC working on the issue but Ireland needs a regulatory authority like the UKGC, which will help identify and enforce all illegal gambling websites, or as many as possible. Then, they can help establish a legal framework which will make it easier to purge/stop any of these illegal activities, while ensuring hefty fines are provided accordingly for those breaking the laws. The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland (GRAI) is slowly establishing the legal framework, via refining older regulations and implementing new ones.

GRAI is set to cover in-person and online gambling, including any type of gambling outside of the national lottery. Companies like Betfree in Ireland claim that at the moment there are about 50 registered bookmakers in Ireland, but thousands of offshore bookmakers targeting Irish customers. The existence of a national system designed to identify illegal gambling will also help prevent scams, while also improving the wellbeing of gamblers and preventing scams, along with severe gambling addictions, so adding such measures can be an inherent benefit for all Ireland-based gamblers.

Why is black market betting seeing consistent growth in the UK?

Why do we see more and more black market betting websites in the UK? And why do people choose these instead of regulated companies? There are many different reasons, as you can see below:

• Anonymity is a major factor, because not everyone wants to share their name, credentials or provide access to their personal accounts. That’s why many of these unregulated, black market sites provide cryptocurrency support. They won’t ask where the money come from, and with crypto, it’s very hard to track any transactions. 
• Some players want to avoid regulatory limits or any checks. That’s why they go for black market websites, since those have less limitations, while offering them to play freely. 
• Due to the lack of certain fees, certain black market bookmakers will provide better odds for certain events. Because of that, people are automatically attracted to these sites, since they want to earn more from their bets.
• In certain situations, black market sites can offer access to more payment options, especially cryptocurrency. That, combined with better odds, can be a major driving factor. 
• Unregulated bookmakers will sometimes remove any deposit/withdrawal limits, and they won’t require any documents for verification. The ability to bet more money is also a possibility as well.

What is the UKGC doing to combat illegal gambling in the UK?

The UKGC is actively focusing on eliminating illegal gambling from the country, or at least making less prevalent. In order to do so, they are taking action in a multitude of ways, all to ensure the safety of players. They are identifying unlicensed regulators and they are removing their URLs from search results.

Additionally, they are choking off payments, and they are stopping any products or games from being accessible on illegal websites. They issued over 750 cease and desist disruption notes in 2024 alone, with 50000 links being removed from search engine, since they were bringing people to illegal gambling websites. 

Additionally, the UKGC is focusing on taking multiple actions to deter and stop illegal gambling, such as:

• Analyzing the while label offerings along with the International Association of Gaming Regulators. 
• They are expanding test purchasing activities, while increasing ties with the financial sector. That’s designed to help identify any type of fraud or potential illegal gambling activities. 
• Building up a database which includes key locations and players for illegal gambling sites.