Gambling is an exciting pastime for a lot of people in the UK, and the projected market size is roughly $12.78bn for 2024 alone. However, the popularity of the gambling market also means there will be some bad actors and black market sites trying to reap in and get some of the profits. Things have gotten so bad that around £2.7bn a year is spent on black market gambling websites. In fact, some say that the real figure is closer to £4.3bn. Despite being just estimates, these clearly show that the black market threat is very much real and it can have a major impact on the industry going forward.

Ireland also needs to take this situation into account, along with other countries. Coverage by Irish betting website Irishbet.ie shows that while sports bookmakers are regulated in Ireland, the country is waiting for enforcement of the new rules around the Gambling Regulation Act.  As the black market of gambling continues to rise, that will bring in significant issues in regards to regulation, financial losses and many other similar problems. That’s why even if there is a gambling market growth, there will also be a darker side attached to it. Knowing how to tackle that and taking the right precautions is a significant thing to focus on!

Why is the gambling black market continuing to grow in the UK?

In order for these black market actors to stand out, they need to offer people some incentives in order to attract them. That’s the reason why black market gambling sites tend to deliver better bonuses. A lot of the time, they bring double or sometimes even triple the number of free bets, VIP bonuses and so on. That makes them significantly more appealing when compared to other, registered and compliant betting websites.

Since these black market sites are circumventing many of the rules and thus save money in doing so, they afford offering people more lee-way and better bonuses. Because of that, a lot of gamblers opt for these websites, just because they feel more appealing. However, when you start looking into these websites, who owns then, and how they are operating, things soon start to fall. What you have to keep in mind is that performing your due diligence is crucial whenever you want to bet on any type of gambling website.

Moreover, these websites tend to encourage VPN use, which helps keep their business afloat by staying under the radar. And not only that, they do target younger audiences like 18-24 with less money to spend. Around 38% of the people using black market sites are within that age spectrum, and the percentage drops significantly when we up the age. That goes to show these black market sites are more appealing to the younger audiences, and that’s a problem.

While Ireland, for example, focuses on adding a new regulation to protect young people from gambling addiction, the UK needs to focus on implementing better measures themselves. That’s because younger audiences will be the ones more enticed to access and use those bonuses. And while that might not seem a problem at first, they can become addicted to gambling and it will certainly be a major issue down the line.

VPN use is on the rise between people that want to access black market sites

These black market operators encourage the use of a VPN because it allows them to stay under the radar. Not only that, but the operators also try to use messaging apps or social media to offer gambling services. That makes them a lot harder to track and identify, because they circumvent regular means of gambling in order to stay under the radar and boost profitability. 

As we know, gaming and betting are highly regulated in the UK, especially in the context of having a cultural support for any type of sport. £4.2bn are paid in taxes from regulated gambling operators within the country. That means they are a significant way for the UK to generate revenue. Within the UK, around 0.4% of people are dealing with problem gambling, and the Gambling Commission has donated £172.5 million over the past 4 years in order to identify and implement solutions that would help these people . 

However, there isn’t any specific, major penalty or very specific regulation when it comes to identifying and handling the illegal actors. There are proposals such as low-level affordability checks, advertising bans, but those will not affect bad actors. If anything, those black market websites will thrive if there are even more limitations imposed on regulated companies. 

That means a lot of the people that want to gamble will choose them when compared to a regulated business. And while that might not seem like an issue at first, it most certainly becomes one. Learning how to adapt is what these bad actors have been doing for quite some time, and it does seem to have a bad impact on the business as a whole. 

According to Grainne Hurst who is the BGC CEO, the best defense is to have a good balance of regulations. But that can be difficult to achieve, and it also means some regulations will strike certain operators more when compared to others. Also, the DCMS or Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in the UK adds more regulation and limits when it comes to wagering. For example, gamblers 25 years or under will have a £5k max staking limit. Will that affect the bad actors or not? That’s hard to say, but it will protect younger generations from gambling addiction, at least a little.

Conclusion

Finding and eliminating black market gambling sites can be difficult, especially since they encourage the users to stay under the radar and use VPN. These sites are taking major precautions to prevent issues, and they are certainly hard to find. Plus, as regulations continue to be very restrictive, we see more and more gamblers opting to use these black market sites due to their better bonuses and enhanced benefits. Despite that, it’s a growing concern and we hope that adequate regulation will be implemented to prevent any major concerns!