BGC publishes report revealing 1.5m Brits spend £4.3bn on non-UKGC gambling activities. Casinoplusbonus investigates the stats. (Image courtesy of okanakdeniz on Vecteezy)
A report carried out by Frontier Economics and published by the British Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has apparently shocked the country.
One of the frightening stats, which I feel could be an underestimation of the issue, was that the UK treasury stands to lose £335 million over the next five years due to black market gambling.
My estimation based on a much smaller sample of, let’s say, 20 people I know would put my estimation somewhere around the £1 billion mark.
Let me explain by comparing my view on gambling versus the BGC published report…
Firstly, I was not shocked by the figures and believe they are understated. From the top of my head, I would say at least 2 out of 5 friends of mine in the UK gamble on black market casinos.
They have their reasons, and there are more that I have heard say they will move over to what Britain dubs ‘black market gambling sites’.
Some say it is because of the new online slot limits; others simply want auto spins, others prefer to bet using crypto, while free bets are more generous on non-UKGC sites, according to others.
Key Stats
| Reason for Using Unregulated Gambling Sites | Proportion of Respondents (%) |
|---|---|
| Better bonuses / free bets | 34.5 |
| Ease of setting up an account | 32.3 |
| Anonymity | 30.9 |
| More flexible payment options | 29.6 |
| Better odds / return to player | 29.6 |
| Wider range of games available | 28.3 |
| To avoid deposit limits | 25.1 |
| To avoid providing documentation | 24.7 |
| Able to bet more money with operator | 22.0 |
| To avoid self-exclusion measures | 17.5 |
UK Punters Spend 4.3 Billion on Black Market Gambling Mostly Due to Better Bonuses
According to the report available on the BGC website, “1.5m BRITS STAKE UP TO £4.3bn ON ILLEGAL GAMBLING BLACK MARKET EACH YEAR”. In the accompany table, it shows the percentage of reasons why respondents that have gambled on a black market gambling site joined a non-UKGC website.
From my personal experience, considering the gambling population of Britain is roughly 20 million people, I feel one stats is not correct. 1.5 million Brits gambling on the black marker is likely an underestimated figure. If I went into a local pub and spoke to those who gamble online, I would stick by my 2 to 5 ratio.
That would make the publicly released figure of 1.5 million more like 4 million people.
The report also estimates that 2.8 million gamblers are aware of black market online casinos. I firmly believe you need to quadruple that figure because of the rise of cryptocurrency. Once again, take my group of friends, for example. 2 out of 5 gambles at a black market online casino, but the other 3 will know 2 of their friends gamble at a non-UKGC casino. That’s 5 out of 5 that know about black market casinos.
Key Reasons Black Market Sites are Attractive: Better bonuses, Ease of setting up an account, and Anonymity stand out. More flexible payment methods, Better odds / return to player, and Wider range of games available are also key reasons.
How was The Report Put Together
When I see the two leading figures of 1.5 million Brits playing on black market online gambling sites and 2.8 million aware of these sites, I always compare these reports with my personal experience.
- How many respondents: The survey used a sample of 6,000 people.
I think a second survey of another 6,000 people would offer different results. Also, I believe the same survey carried out on smaller samples of, let’s say, 1,000 gamblers on a per-area basis would also give more accurate figures.
As a result of my suggestion, I believe from personal experience we’ll receive mixed results depending on which part of Britain the survey was carried out. I truly believe if the survey is carried out in cities like London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, and so on, the scale of black market gambling will be far higher than the statistics published in the report published on the BGC.
Source: You can get the full download of the Economic Costs Of Black Market Gambling In Great Britain here.
Key Stats
| Key Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Total amount staked on the black market | £4.3 billion annually |
| Online illegal gambling market | £2.7 billion staked |
| Underground venues | £1.6 billion staked |
| Impact on 18-24 year-olds | 1 in 5 have gambled on the black market |
| Impact on UK Treasury | Potential loss of £335 million over five years |
| Main issue | Black market is easy to find, targets vulnerable populations |
| Regulatory recommendation | Balanced regulations needed to combat black market growth |
Impact on 18-24 year-olds
The stats that show one out of five 18 to 24-year-olds that participated in the survey have been exposed to the gambling black market comes as no surprise. The younger generation is more tech-savvy.
- Crypto: The younger generation is more exposed to crypto, and they want to gamble using crypto.
- VPNs: The younger generation are used to using VPNs for purposes other than online gambling. However, as they already know how to use a VPN, getting onto black market online gambling sites via a VPN is also no problem.
I am 47 years old, so I don’t know too many 18 to 24-year-olds who gamble. I play a lot of football (soccer), and there are some 20 and over players, but none of them gamble that I know of.
From my experience, I feel the younger generation tends to gamble less compared to when I was in my teenage years and early twenties. I am going back to when we didn’t have smartphones to gamble online, and online casinos, sports books, and poker rooms were only just coming online via desktop apps.
I look back to then, and I’d venture as far as to say 90% of us gambled. That was whether we joined an online gambling site, bet in high street bookies, used telephone betting, or visited slot shops or land-based casinos and other venues to play poker. Some of us gambled more than others, but I stuck by my 90% figure. Yet, speaking with many of my friends’ sons and daughters between 18 and 24, I feel the percentage is more like 50%. Maybe I am just out of touch!
Age Group Awareness of Blackmarket Casinos
£1.6 billion Spent in Illegal Underground Gambling Venues
Black market gambling goes deeper than players joining non-UKGC online casinos. Now, despite living in the UK on and off for many years, the topic of illegal gambling dens I am not too savvy on.
Maybe I just don’t know the right people, as I prefer to play at land-based casinos, with the Hippodrome in Leicester Square my go-to venue. OK, so I know about a small number of dodgy poker clubs around London, but the rakes they make are not exactly spectacular.
At least, I don’t see how these clubs combined could even get close to the figure of £1.6 billion. Yet, the report published by the BGC also mentions another interesting statistic.
It seems that there are an increasing number of busts on illegal venues. Some are sports betting rackets, which I have seen plenty of, and other gentleman’s clubs with no gambling license.
Do you have any personal experiences? Let us know if your group of friends who gamble online use black market sites. Give us your estimate and leave a comment or start a topic on the Casinoplusbonus forum.
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