Gambling Commission publishes illegal gambling survey estimates for Great Britain

The Gambling Commission released fresh estimates on 5 November about how far consumers engage with illegal gambling websites. The figures are drawn from the Gambling Survey for Great Britain, and an updated Illegal Gambling Data Dashboard accompanied them. The dashboard is meant to follow engagement trends and the effect of disruption work.

Sue Young, Executive Director for Operations at the Gambling Commission, said the regulator wants to kick crime out of gambling. She said that, across the overall population, engagement with the illegal market looks low and stable on these indicators, yet some online gamblers do use such sites. She said research indicates that consumers of illegal operators face a greater likelihood of harm. She said partnership with bodies in government, industry, technology and financial services would carry on, aimed at disrupting crime and protecting consumers.

The survey results sit alongside recent publications that examined why consumers turn to illegal gambling sites and looked at financial transaction data. That work indicates that people use illegal operators for a range of reasons, and no one factor accounts for it. The research appeared alongside the Commission's CEO Briefing event, where industry leaders reviewed progress, priorities that are emerging, and up-to-date evidence on illegal gambling.