Illegal bettors 7x likelier to show problem gambling signs

The regulator’s research is based on banking transaction data covering individuals tracked over several years.

The hit

Bettors using illegal gambling websites in Britain are more than 7 times as likely to show problem gambling behaviour as licensed customers, according to research published by the UK Gambling Commission, reported by Yogonet.

Why it matters

The data suggests illegal gambling doesn’t pull bettors away from licensed operators. It sits alongside them, the regulator’s report concluded. The regulator stopped short of saying illegal gambling causes the higher harm scores.

The record

Problem gambling score (8+ on PGSI)	45% of illegal gambling users vs 6% of licensed customers
Moderate-risk score (3-7 on PGSI)	17% of illegal gambling users vs 9% of licensed customers
Overlap with licensed gambling	91% of repeat illegal-site users also gambled on licensed platforms
Licensed transactions before/after first illegal payment	24.8 average monthly transactions before, 23.7 after, among 122 individuals
Data analysed	157.2m banking transactions, ~38,000 individuals, July 2018-July 2026 (YouGov data via UKGC)
Suspected illegal transactions identified	3,426 transactions involving 179 individuals

What happens next

Watch for how the UKGC uses this research to shape its approach to illegal gambling enforcement, given it admits significant limitations in detecting unlicensed payments from banking data alone.

Sources: Illegal gambling users seven times more likely to show problem gambling behavior, UKGC finds

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