From 0.43% to 9%: The Alarming Rise of Unlicensed Gambling in the UK

Yield Sec CEO Ismali Vali revealed this data at a Peers for Gambling Reform event, outlining that this growth counterpoints the declining reputation of the UK gambling regulations. To become a licensed casino that operates in the UK, the operator must apply for a licence with the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC). Players using UKGC casinos can expect a high-quality framework and regulations that prioritise user safety and operator security.

Vali suggested that unregulated gambling figures are rising because of marketing targeted towards vulnerable groups, like self-excluded gamblers or underage users. The legal market currently operates 2,000 casinos that generate £3.9 billion in revenue and are promoted by 7,000 affiliates. When comparing this data to the illegal market which operates 700 unlicensed operators that are promoted by 1,600 affiliates, it is clear that while the numbers are lower, it is not by a substantial margin.

A lot of the marketing around these illegal sites is that they promote themselves as ‘not on GamStop’, meaning self-excluded players can seek out and play on these sites.

Vali said, “So of 100% of stuff that you see promoting illegal gambling, 84% is not-on-Gamstop related. Not-on-Gamstop was a problem that started in 2020, we’ve said something about it every single year.

“And every single year, this thing doubles the size of the UK’s illegal gambling sector. This is an area where that phenomenon simply has not been killed.”

Yield Sec researched further into the damage ‘not on GamStop’ is causing to self-excluded players and found that this category of gambler could account for £426 million in losses on these unregulated sites. This is based on GamStop’s own data that shows 532,484 registered users with a 25% recidivism rate.

Underage gamblers are another key target for unregulated casinos and the total losses from minors and self-excluded gamblers are estimated to be around £583 million. Vali recognises that the unregulated sites are primarily marketed towards these two groups as they represent “the cheapest and most effective path” for illegal gambling.

Yield Sec has looked at how search engines and social media platforms are advertising these sites through ‘not on Gamstop’ searches. There have been recent movements towards services like ChatGPT introducing policies that redirect users to gambling harm prevention services.

This research demonstrates that unregulated casinos are directly harming users, especially by targeting vulnerable groups. While there has been a movement redirecting and helping users who are seeking out these ‘not on GamStop’ sites, it will be interesting to see if search engines and social media platforms respond by putting further prevention measures in place.