A PWC report found 200K customers used an unlicensed gambling operator over 12 months between 2018 and 2019

UK online black market sees 27M visits in a year; BGC warns over Gambling Review

A report by PWC revealed that 200,000 customers used an unlicensed gambling operator over a 12 month period between 2018 and 2019, staking around 1.4 billion pounds (USD 1.87 billion).
2020-12-22
Reading time 1:41 min
According to the new report, unregulated operators accounted for 2.5% of all visits to betting websites, And nearly 1 in 10 of all gambling search results were for black market sites. the Betting and Gaming Council said these figures show "the danger of unintentionally driving punters" into the online black market amid the UK Government's Gambling Act review.

UK Standards body the Betting and Gaming Council has warned about the danger posed by the illegal, online black market as it emerged UK punters visited the unregulated sites 27 million times in a year.

A report by PWC revealed that 200,000 customers used an unlicensed gambling operator over a 12 month period between 2018 and 2019, staking around 1.4 billion pounds (USD 1.87 billion). Overall, unregulated operators accounted for 2.5% of all visits to betting websites – amounting to 27 million visits in total. And nearly one in 10 (9%) of all gambling search results were for black market sites.

The findings came as the UK Government continues its review of the 2005 Gambling Act, and led to renewed warnings that it could lead to customers being forced into the arms of black market operators, who have none of the safeguards put in place by the regulated sector, the BGC explains. These include strict ID and age verification checks plus a wide range of safer gambling tools such as deposit limits, time outs and interventions where punters are spending more time or money than normal betting.

By contrast, black market sites can lure under-18s, who cannot bet with regulated firms, and carry out no checks on customers, regardless of how much time or money they spend gambling.

Michael Dugher, Chief Executive Officer of the Betting and Gaming Council, said: “As the standards body for the regulated industry, we strongly welcome the Gambling Review, which we think is a great opportunity to drive further change on safer gambling. However, these figures demonstrate the danger of unintentionally driving punters into the arms of the illegal, online black market – which offers none of the protections of the regulated sector."

“The regulated betting and gaming industry employs 100,000 men and women and pays £3.2bn a year in tax to the Treasury, so the Government needs to be wary of doing anything that puts that at risk. Millions of people in the UK enjoy an occasional flutter, whether that is on sports, at the bingo, on the Lottery or online, and it is vitally important that they are able to do so in a safe environment, rather than the unscrupulous black market.”

Leave your comment
Subscribe to our newsletter
Enter your email to receive the latest news
By entering your email address, you agree to Yogonet's Condiciones de uso and Privacy Policies. You understand Yogonet may use your address to send updates and marketing emails. Use the Unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.
Unsubscribe
EVENTS CALENDAR