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The UK Gambling Commission has published the fourth and final report in its series exploring the complex and evolving issue of illegal online gambling.

The series — launched earlier this year — set out to improve understanding of consumer engagement with illegal online gambling, the risks it poses and the actions being taken to disrupt it.

Over the past months, the Commission has published three reports examining:

Part 1: Consumer awareness, drivers and motivations

Part 2: Consumer engagement and trends

Part 3: Disruption of illegal online gambling

This report — “Estimating the size of the illegal online gambling market” — explores the challenges of quantifying an activity that is, by its nature, hidden.

Understanding the challenge

The report highlights that while measuring the scale of the illegal online gambling market is essential for effective enforcement and policy-making, doing so presents significant methodological challenges. Reliable data is limited, and assumptions are often required to fill gaps — meaning that confidence in any single estimate is inherently constrained.

The Commission draws parallels with other areas of illicit activity, such as the trade in illegal tobacco, where government departments face similar difficulties estimating financial impact.

Building on progress

Although no single estimate of market size has been published, the Commission’s work to date has built a stronger evidence base and clearer understanding of both consumer behaviour and illegal operator tactics.

The series has found that:

• consumer motivations to use illegal sites are varied — there is no single driver of engagement

• some consumers are unaware that they are gambling illegally, highlighting the need for greater public awareness

• not all activity in the illegal market represents a direct loss to the regulated sector, as some consumers are self-excluded or otherwise unable to gamble legally

• there is currently no evidence of sustained growth in engagement with illegal websites where data has been collected

• a range of disruption and enforcement tactics are being deployed, supported by cross-industry and international collaboration.

A shared responsibility

The Commission emphasises that tackling illegal gambling requires a coordinated response. Efforts to measure, monitor and disrupt the illegal market will depend on continued collaboration across government, industry, digital platforms and financial services.

Chief Executive, Andrew Rhodes said: “Illegal online gambling remains a serious threat to consumers and to the integrity of the regulated market.

“While measuring the full scale of the problem is complex, our understanding is growing — and so too is our ability to disrupt illegal operators.

“Our independent research has strengthened the evidence base, improved transparency, and underlined that progress depends on a collective effort across sectors.”

Next steps

Although this marks the end of the current series, the Commission will continue its programme of research, data collection and enforcement activity.

The post UK Gambling Commission Concludes Four-part Series on Illegal Online Gambling appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has published the second annual report from the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB), the world’s largest dedicated study of gambling participation, behaviours and consequences.

Produced by National Centre for Social Research and University of Glasgow the survey has undergone independent review and complements the Commission’s wider exploration of gambling in Britain through a range of research and data.

Key findings in this year’s report include:

• overall, 48% of adults aged 18+ in Great Britain have gambled in the last 4 weeks, decreasing to 28% when those who had only bought tickets for a lottery draw were excluded

• 42% of adults who gambled in the past 12 months rated the last time they gambled positively, compared to 21% who rated it negatively. For the chance of winning big money was the main reason why people gamble (85%) followed by because gambling is fun (72%)

• in 2024, 2.7% of adults aged 18+ in Great Britain scored 8+ on the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), which is statistically stable compared to 2023.

Recent research published by Professor Patrick Sturgis to further understand the impact of methodology on survey estimates has strengthened confidence in the robustness of GSGB estimates.

The large survey sample size – 19,714 respondents – has enabled the Commission to publish two supplementary reports into risk profiles among people who gamble on a weekly basis and the potential negative consequences of gambling.

The first report highlights the risk profiles among people who gamble on a weekly basis. These findings show that levels of risk vary not only between gambling products, but also within product categories themselves – underlining the need for operators to take account of risks within their customer bases.

The second report broadens understanding of the potential negative consequences of gambling. The findings reinforce evidence from earlier qualitative research indicating gambling can simultaneously impact multiple aspects of a person’s life such as their relationships with others and their health.

The new release complement other research published by the Commission over the last year including:

• four quarterly publications tracking participation in gambling

• a deep dive report written by the University of Glasgow to investigate the relationship between reasons for gambling and different gambling activities

• a deep dive report written by the University of Glasgow to explore the relationship between gambling activities and PGSI scores

• findings of new research exploring people’s experiences of gambling consequences

• its response to Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) review of the GSGB

• experimental research findings on why different gambling surveys produce different estimates.

Andrew Rhodes, Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission, said: “The Gambling Survey for Great Britain is a key building block of the evidence base which helps government, industry and other partners understand both gambling behaviour and potential consequences from gambling.

“This year’s findings deepen our understanding of consequences from gambling and provide crucial insight into risk profiles among those who gamble most frequently. We strongly encourage operators to use this evidence to consider the risks within their own customer bases.

“Data and research, such as GSGB, is essential to helping us identify where our regulatory focus should be and informs our ongoing work to implement player protection recommendations from the Gambling Act Review White Paper.

“We have already introduced light-touch financial vulnerability checks on those spending £150 a month, reduced the intensity of all online games by banning autoplay and slowing game speed, and tightened age verification in premises.

“We’ve also banned potentially harmful marketing offers involving consumers having to carry out two or more types of gambling, such as betting and playing slots, and limited the number of times bonus funds must be re-staked before a consumer can withdraw winnings.”

He continued: “From the end of this month [31 October] our new rules will give consumer controls over deposit limits and all gambling businesses must prompt their customers to set a financial limit before they make their first deposit.”

“In the land-based sector, we are also considering time and monetary limit setting functionality and safer gambling messaging on machines.

“In addition, we have been piloting enhanced frictionless financial risk assessments for those spending £1,000 within 24 hours or £2,000 within 90 days. We are currently analysing the data gathered during the pilot examining data-sharing between credit reference agencies and gambling businesses.”

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