BGC Warns of 1.5 Million Brits Engaging in Black Market Gambling

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has alerted the government to the heightened risks posed by unregulated black market gambling, which may be underestimated by British consumers.

This warning from the UK's gambling trade and standards body follows the release of a study by microeconomics consultancy Frontier Economics, titled: “The Size and Economic Costs of Black Market Gambling in Great Britain.”

Commissioned by the BGC, the study is described as “the first major analysis of the black market since the release of the Government’s White Paper on gambling reforms.”

The UK gambling industry is acknowledged as a highly regulated sector, serving 14 million adults (excluding the National Lottery) each month, and generating £10.9 billion in annual gross gambling yield (GGY).

Licensing regulations ensure consumer protection through safer gambling rules, compliance monitoring, customer care interventions, responsible gambling tools, controls, and financial oversight—overseen by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC).

Andrew Leicester, Associate Director at Frontier Economics, emphasized:

“This report shows that most gambling today is done through regulated, visible channels. That is good news.

“But there are warning signs. The landscape is evolving quickly in ways that suggest black market gambling is getting easier to find and access.

“This report provides timely new evidence on the scale of the black market. Efforts to make gambling safer are important, but must avoid the risk of simply pushing more players and spending into unregulated providers who do not need to comply with regulations around safer play.”