The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), a body representing the interests of the UK’s gambling industry, has outlined a new five-step plan that it hopes could help tackle the black market in the country.
BGC highlights pace of growth of black market
The trade group’s action plan comes at a time when H2 Gambling Capital, a consultancy, estimates that the black market is on track to hit £33bn in money wagered by 2028, from £17bn in 2025, marking a significant pace of growth over the coming years, which is already underway. BGC Chief Executive Grainne Hurst welcomed the action plan and outlined why it was necessary: Illegal gambling operators offer none of the protections required in the regulated sector. They do not conduct safer gambling interventions, they do not carry out identity checks, they do not verify age properly, and they provide no route to redress when things go wrong. To prevent this, the BGC believes that its five-step plan needs to beimplemented in full, as it could significantly restrict rogue operators’ ability to navigate the British iGaming and betting landscape by taking down the channels these companies use to reach customers. First is a proposal to tackle illegal gambling advertising, which the BGC argues accounts for half of available gambling advertising in the United Kingdom, and is on track to overtake advertising by regulated operators by 2028, citing an analysis by WARC.
The UKGC should have more powers to act
Thus, the BGC urges for stronger action in this particular area, calling on relevant parties to move quicker in removing illegal gambling ads and limit unlicensed operators’ ability to reach British customers. Another step that must be undertaken is to expand the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC)’s powers, enabling the watchdog to directly block illegal gambling websites and remove unlicensed gambling apps. Hemmed in by red tape, the regulator cannot act as quickly as is necessary to limit the adversarial impact that illegal gambling operators have, the BGC further argues, thus making it harderfor unlicensed websites to reach customers in the country. Another area that must be targeted, adds the BGC, is payment providers that may be facilitating transactions to and from black market operators. The BGC calls for a concentrated effort to cut off the money and disincentivize consumers from trying to deposit money with such operators. Not least, the BGC urges the government to come up with tougher penalties on individuals and companies who knowingly and purposefully enable the existence and promotion of black market operators. While regulated businesses comply with strict rules, illegal operators increasingly use influencers, search engines and AI-generated content to target consumers outside the regulatory framework. Those who knowingly enable such activity should face meaningful consequences, the BGC said.
Act now, or brace for the consequences
If policymakers fail to tackle this growing threat, more gambling will take place in environments with no safeguards, no oversight and no consumer protections, Hurst added, arguing that it was a consumer protection issue. The BGC insists that its five-point plan sets out practical and targeted measures that will have a deep impact on the black market’s ability to operate in the United Kingdom, as well as stem the cadence of its growth. Not least, the fifth point put forward by the BGC argues that illegal operators must face tougher sanctions that would make them less likely to target customers in the UK. On this last point, however, enforcement is hard because black market operators would have to own property or assets in the United Kingdom in order to feel properly pressured, which they do not currently. A similar case in the Netherlands recently raised the same issue.
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