UK Illegal Betting Growing Rapidly, Report Shows

by Jamie Smith, 10 September 2025

Newly published research shows that there has been a dramatic rise in the amount of illegal betting taking place in the UK.

Illegal betting in the UK is becoming increasingly concerning.

Key Facts:

• Labour government has been reforming the gambling sector
• Industry bodies have warned of the risks of regulation leading to an increase in illegal online gambling
• New data from Yield Sec, an anti-fraud platform, has shed light on the extent of the issue in the UK
• The new report was commissioned by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG)

The illegal sector represented only 0.43% of the total gambling market in 2020, but this has exploded to 9%.

According to new research that was commissioned by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling and carried out by Yield Sec, an anti-fraud platform, in the first half of 2025, the UK’s illegal gambling market was worth £379 million.

This means that in the last five years, the illegal betting industry’s share of the UK’s gambling market as a whole has doubled every 12 months.

The UK’s Labour government, which is reforming the country’s gambling industry, will have to watch closely for the rise in illegal betting.

No Good Reason

Yield Sec chief executive Ismail Vali said illegal gambling operators are targeting people under the age of 18 – the UK’s gambling limit – and people who have signed up to use the Gamstop self-exclusion scheme.

Speaking at a Peers for Gambling Reform event, Vail said: “For mainstream consumers, what possible benefit would you gain from using an illegal gambling operator in Great Britain? Illegals in Great Britain cannot beat legals across price, product or promotion, consistently. There is no good reason for mainstream consumers to use illegal gambling operators.”

The illegal sector in the UK is said to be made up of about 700 unlicensed operators, compared to the legal market comprising over 2,000 licensed operators.

It is not just in the UK where the illegal betting and gambling market has been expanding of late.

Back in January, the chair of the French Gambling Authority, Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, said at a round table that took place as part of the ICE Barcelona industry event that illegal activity can no longer be seen as being “niche”.

Untaxed Bonuses

Some experts believe that illegal gambling operators are becoming more popular in the UK due to being able to offer higher bonuses that are untaxed.

Paul Leyland from leading industry analysts Regulus Partners pushed back on the CFG research, stating there is a smaller online gambling black market of 5.3%.

Regardless, this is still a substantial rise from just 2.1% in 2018, and Leyland offered explanations for the claims made by the new Yield Sec report.

He said: “While the figure is perhaps approaching reality from a gross gaming revenue perspective, that is mostly because the black market can offer untaxed bonuses with dubious terms and conditions.”

“We see the key reasons for recent black market growth from minimal levels before 2018 as the 2017 tax on gaming bonuses, increasing anti-money laundering-affordability pressures for licensed operators – especially the big brands – and most recently £5 slots.”

Regulation changes from the UK government include the introduction of slot stake limits at online casinos and a new statutory levy for gambling operators.