BGC warns over black market growth, as illegal gambling hits nearly £17bn

• BGC issues a reminder to policymakers that the black market continues to expand at an unprecedented pace, hitting £17bn
• The black market operations in the UK need to be addressed, with the regulator setting up a dedicated position
• BGC’s boss has reminded policymakers to act by ensuring that the rules they impose are easy on the players and allow for smooth integration, undermining black market operators

Much of the regulatory efforts in the United Kingdom have gone into keeping established companies in check, and ensuring that the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), the country’s watchdog, doesn’t appear soft on the industry.

BGC highlights the need to address the threat from the black market

Yet, the real threat, argues the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), a trade group championing the industry’s interests, lies not in the regulated sector that is accountable for its actions, but rather in the black market, which has proliferated.

The group argued that the illegal gambling market in the United Kingdom has expanded to nearly £17bn annually, and that it has grown threefold since 2019, and doubled its size in the past two years, indicative of a sustained trend.

The BGC has cited research by H2 Gambling Capital, according to which the black market stood at roughly £5bn in 2017, only to hit £16.6bn in 2025. Grainne Hurst, Chief Executive of the Betting and Gaming Council, had this to add, commenting on the expansion of the clandestine gambling sector:

"What we are seeing is a harmful black market scaling up at a pace. Illegal operators are becoming more sophisticated, more visible, and more aggressive in how they reach UK customers. That should concern anyone who cares about consumer protection."

Hurst used the report’s findings to urge policymakers into action and convince them to take more decisive steps towards cracking down on illegal gambling. In a sense, the UKGC has answered this call, having set up a new head of illegal gambling markets position.

Policymakers ought to heed the industry's calls to tackle the black market

However, a core criticism of this new position is that it offers a relatively small salary - £65,000 annually, and even has a part-time option, which some industry consultants and insiders have criticized as not enough.

Hurst did not go to lambast the current regulation per se, but she argued that in order to give the legal market a fighting chance, the processes need to be streamlined so consumers can be onboarded without issues.

"That is why financial risk assessments must either be genuinely ‘frictionless’ or not introduced at all - because anything else will push customers out of the regulated market," she noted.

The key focus of any policy change should be to avoid overreaching and overcorrection to avoid empowering the black market in the process.

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