The BGC is proposing a five-point plan that includes website and payment blocks on unlicensed gambling operators and sanctions against ‘”enablers”

British gaming industry association the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) is urging government to adopt a five-point plan to combat illegal online gambling.

Citing forecasts from H2 Gambling Capital, the BGC says that illegal gambling stakes could climb from £17 billion in 2025 to more than £33 billion by 2028, jeopardising efforts to improve consumer safeguards in the regulated market.

To address the rise of the illegal gambling market, the BGC is calling on the UK government to adopt a five-point plan that would shutdown illegal gambling advertising, block access to illegal sites, prevent payment transfers, increase penalties for illegal gambling, and hold enabling companies to account.

Enabling companies are those that provide goods and services to illegal operators, such as platform and game providers, payment processors and marketing affiliates. 

“These forecasts are a wake-up call for everyone involved in protecting consumers. If current trends continue, black market gambling stakes could exceed £33bn within three years, with almost one in every five pounds staked online potentially ending up with illegal operators,” said Grainne Hurst, chief executive of the Betting and Gaming Council. “That should concern anyone who cares about consumer protection and reducing gambling-related harm. 

“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. Every customer who is driven into the black market loses those protections.

“This is not simply an issue for the regulated industry. It is a consumer protection issue, a public health issue and a criminal justice issue,” Hurst added. “Government, regulators, technology companies and payment providers must work together to stop illegal operators reaching British consumers, cut off their funding and hold those who facilitate their activities accountable.

“Our five-point plan sets out practical, targeted measures that would strike at the heart of the black market and better protect consumers.”