Are UK gamblers really abandoning licensed operators for the black market? New Gambling Commission research suggests the answer is more complicated.
The UK Gambling Commission has published new findings from an analysis of banking transactions involving suspected illegal gambling operators, raising fresh questions about player behaviour, regulation and the risks facing vulnerable customers.
The research identified 3,426 suspected illegal gambling transactions involving 179 individuals. Among those with repeated detected illegal transactions, **91% also gambled with licensed operators**, challenging the assumption that players who turn to the black market necessarily leave the regulated sector behind.
But what does this mean for the UK gambling industry?
In today's episode of **iGaming Daily**, host **Charlie Horner** is joined by **Ted Menmuir, SBC Media's Editor-at-Large**, and **Ted Orme-Claye, SBC News Editor**, to unpack the research and debate its implications.
The discussion explores whether financial risk assessments and other regulatory measures could be encouraging some customers to explore unlicensed sites, while also examining the relationship between black market gambling and gambling-related harm.
The panel also considers another significant finding: 45% of the study's participants with detected illegal gambling transactions and available PGSI scores recorded a score of eight or above, compared with 6% of licensed non-lottery gambling consumers in the study's comparison group.
With concerns over player protection, financial checks, GAMSTOP, payment blocking and the limitations of existing research, the episode asks whether the industry and regulators need to rethink their assumptions about the illegal gambling market.
**In this episode:**
- Why 91% of repeat black market gamblers in the study also used licensed operators
- What open banking data reveals about gambling behaviour
- The connection between illegal gambling and problem gambling risk
- Whether regulation and financial checks are pushing players offshore
- Why unlicensed sites can be attractive to vulnerable customers
- The role of banks and payment providers in preventing illegal gambling
- What further research is needed to tackle the black market
The Gambling Commission acknowledges that its dataset is not nationally representative and cannot establish that illegal gambling causes harm.
**iGaming Daily is supported by Optimove**, the creator of Positionless Marketing and a player engagement solution for sports betting and iGaming operators.
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