What is Black Market Betting?
Black market betting is an illegal form of gambling from a provider who does not have a gambling license when a license is required by law for all betting companies in order to keep consumers safe. The black market operates outside of the legal regulations and it can cause serious risks to customers, legal operators and the government.
The betting black market in the UK covers many possibilities including underground casinos, unregulated betting shops and street bookmakers as well as online options such as offshore apps and websites, Telegram and crypto casinos and betting groups on social media. A study found that 1 in 6 UK gamblers know the existence of at least one black market betting site and many people even regularly use the sites for their betting.
A Rise in Black Market Betting in UK
There has been a significant rise in black market betting in the UK over recent years with a report on 22 unlicensed sites from the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities stating that the total number of visits to these sites has increased by 131% from 2021 to 2024. Between January and September 2024, there has also been nearly 1.3 million visits per month to these sites in comparison to just a 25% growth in visits to 10 legal UK betting sites. This report is only on horse racing betting specifically but it is very telling of the increasing numbers in illegal black market betting.
The BGC have also found that customers of illegal back market betting in the UK bet over £2.7bn each year which increases every year. This is compared to licensed betting companies which earn around £128bn a year. BGC also claim that 0.8% of betters only use illegal betting sites and 5.4% of bettors use a combination of both legal and black market bookmakers.
The Harms of Black Market Betting
Black market betting can be very harmful to both players and legal operators. For consumers, there is very little player protection as no finance checks are carried out and there is no age check meaning that under 18s have access to the betting which is illegal.
The problem with black market betting is that they offer appealing features that are not often found on legal sites which encourages players to bet illegally for better rewards. For example, black market sites may offer better bonuses and odds, bigger free bets, stronger anonymity due to the lack of personal details required, lack of deposit limits and they do not require proper documentation.
The black market has always been relatively small but with increasing regulations being placed on legal and licensed gambling operators, the appeal to turn to black market sites is increasing. The existence of the black market is undermining the progress made by regulations in regards to making gambling safer and more and more customers are being put at risk.
What have the UKGC Tried to Do?
The UK Gambling Commission is committed to tackling illegal gambling by increasing resources, investment and capacity to target the betting black market. The UKGC are actively working on disrupting the black market as it is unsafe for consumers and there is concern for legal operators as it avoids paying tax and undercuts other companies. Here are some ways the UKGC are tackling black market betting:
- Removing URLs from search results – the UKGC referred more than 78,000 URLs to Google of which 50,000 were successfully removed and 255 websites have been shut down completely.
- They are working to stop games and products from being accessible on these illegal websites and choking off payments.
- In 2024, they issued over 750 Cease and Desist and disruption notices, 259 of those issued to operators and 189 to advertisers.
- Collaborated with the International Association of Gaming Regulators to analyse white label offerings.
- Creation of a database to collect key locations and players of illegal betting sites and collaborating globally to share information and coordinate efforts to remove content through Google.
- Expansion of test purchasing activities and improvement of ties with the financial sector to help identify possible illegal gambling activities and fraud.
Are the UKGC’s Measures Working?
The UKGC has implemented many measures to tackle illegal gambling and are making good progress in developing more actions to gather more data with the help of global collaboration with aims to effectively combat black market betting. The plans already put in place have begun to disrupt the black market with successful cease and desists and URL removal to make it much harder for consumers to find the sites.
The betting black market is a concern for both customers and legal operators alike but with consistent and effective plans of action from the UKGC and global partnerships, illegal gambling is being targeted with many successful results.
