UK’s Gambling Industry Risk Level Increased to “Medium”
The UK’s Home Office has announced the risk level for the country’s gambling industry has been upgraded to medium over money-laundering concerns.
The gambling industry in the UK has seen its risk level increased. © Chris Liverani, Unsplash
Key Facts:
- The Home Office’s 2025 National Risk Assessment is out now
- Report raises concerns over the legality of gambling activities
- Labour government is increasing regulation of the sector
- Crash games have been cited as a particular area of concern
Since winning last year’s general election, the Labour government has been rolling out various reforms for the UK’s gambling industry, including a new statutory levy.
Designed to raise at least £100 million on fresh taxation from betting companies and online casinos, the first levy payments will need to be paid this October.
But the government is increasingly concerned about areas of the sector, with money laundering, a department it is keeping a close eye on.
The Home Office has announced it has seen an increase in illegal casinos targeting the UK.
As a result, it has raised the industry’s anti-money laundering (AML) risk level from low to medium, though the latest NRA also confirmed that the risk of terrorist financing is still low.
Concerns Over White Label Operators
White label gambling operations have been in the spotlight in recent months.
Issues with white label company TGP Europe recently led to the firm being given a £3.3 million penalty by the Gambling Commission and it opted to leave the UK market.
While the white label model has since been defended by companies such as Grace Media, the Home Office noted this is an area of concern.
In the NRA, the government said some companies have been paying a white label partner to operate a UK domain under their licence, causing compliance concerns.
The Home Office said: “In these cases, the licensee would remain responsible for compliance, although they did not always have sufficient oversight.”
“These arrangements are now less common, but risks remain where white-label providers offer large numbers of websites, as failure by a single remote casino to control the ML risks relating to their white-label partnerships can impact a significant number of websites.”
Risk Of Illegal Casinos
UK players are also increasingly being targeted by illegal and unlicensed casino sites.
According to the newly published NRA, these problematic sites have been heavily targeting online advertising through the use of deals, promotions and offers that entice new customers.
Cryptocurrency is often available in the cashiers of these illegal casinos, which the NRA also highlighted as another problem area for the industry right now.
It said: “As they operate illegally, they will not be supervised by the Gambling Commission, nor have a requirement to implement MLR controls. The use of cryptoassets in illegal casinos is also increasing.”
Bodies such as the Betting and Gaming Council, which speaks on behalf of regulated companies in the industry, have regularly spoken out about the risks of increasing regulation of the sector potentially leading to more illegal betting activity in the UK.
