Study: 1.5 million Brits stake up to £4.3 billon on black market each year

[The Buzz]

A new study conducted by Frontier Economics for the Betting and Gaming Council reveals a staggering 1.5 million British citizens wager up to £4.3 billion annually on the perilous and unregulated gambling black market.

This first major study on the black market since the previous Government's White Paper on gambling reform, underscores the aggressive targeting of UK customers by illegal operators, severely compromising player safety while depriving both sports and the Treasury of millions.

Alarmingly, the research indicates that more than one in five young adults (18-24 years old) who engage in betting already utilize the unsafe, unregulated gambling black market, accessible both online and through secure messaging apps.

From the Betting and Gaming Council:

While £2.7bn is staked on illegal sites online – impacting every area of betting and gaming from online poker to horse racing - the study suggested up to a further £1.6bn could be being staked in-person at illegal gambling dens.

Standards body the BGC said balanced regulations and stable taxation is the best defence against the black market.

Betting and Gaming Council CEO Grainne Hurst, said: “This shocking report exposes the unnerving true scale of the growing, unsafe, unregulated gambling black market.

“From online gaming, to betting on sports like horse racing, millions of customers are being driven into the arms of pernicious black market operators. These people don’t care about player safety, don’t want to pay their fair share to support sport and don’t pay a penny in tax.

“By failing to adhere to the stringent standards set by the Gambling Commission, unregulated operators in the unsafe black market can make bigger offers, grant customers total anonymity, and promise the freedom to gamble without any controls or safety measures, unlike BGC members.

“Worst of all, these sites are making a mockery of the rules set up to protect the most vulnerable by aggressively advertising their services to those who have self-excluded.

Read more: https://bettingandgamingcouncil.com/...hock-new-study

[tufty]

It is better than draconian affordability checks and bookies refusing to lay a bet to more than a tenner. Sort out the serious issues with the perilous regulated gambling market - the rest will follow.

[NoDepositCasinos]

It is better than draconian affordability checks and bookies refusing to lay a bet to more than a tenner. Sort out the serious issues with the perilous regulated gambling market - the rest will follow.

Exactly. It was extensively discussed here.

If you want people to avoid the black market, make the regulated options more attractive and easier to access. Controls and invasion of privacy disincentivize anyone.

[Pokerface]

Is anyone really surprised. Regulations will always force people to search for alternative options. No surprises!

[Sherlock]

Stake or lose?