The Gambling Commission has released new survey data towards estimates of consumer engagement with illegal gambling websites in Great Britain. Published alongside the launch of the Illegal Gambling Index, the findings indicate that 0.6% of respondents engaged with illegal gambling websites within the previous four weeks, with a further 0.4% reporting use within the past 12 months but not in the last four weeks. The data is intended to strengthen enforcement work and inform measures designed to protect consumers.
Key Findings
The estimates derive from the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB), the Commission’s official statistics instrument. According to the newly published data dashboard, 94.4% of respondents showed no indication of having used an illegal gambling website. Among online gamblers specifically, engagement with unlicensed sites is notably higher than the population-level figure, with earlier releases from the research programme indicating that roughly 4% of online gamblers reported using illegal gambling sites over a 12-month period.
The Illegal Gambling Index identifies potential engagement with illegal websites based on seven self-reported behavioural markers. The Commission has stated that the Index is designed to provide a consistent, repeatable measure that can be tracked over time, supporting trend analysis and targeted regulatory intervention.
The publication follows the third phase of the Commission’s ongoing illegal online gambling research programme, which examined the key push factors driving consumers toward unlicensed operators. That research identified access restrictions and extensive personal data requirements as significant drivers. Consumers who self-excluded through GamStop, or who were deterred by intrusive verification and affordability checks, were among those more likely to seek out sites not covered by UK regulation.
The Commission has also published complementary research on consumer pathways into illegal gambling, including a study that identified payments to illegal operators and associated indicators of gambling-related harm. Regulatory sources note that among a sample of consumers making payments to illegal operators, 45% scored 8 or more on the Problem Gambling Severity Index, compared with substantially lower rates among consumers of licensed operators. The Commission has been careful to state that such findings demonstrate correlation rather than proven causation.
