The United Nations said illegal gambling generates an estimated $340bn to $1.7tn in wagers worldwide each year, with about half of the volume attributed to Asia. Its report on organised crime in South-East Asia also warned that online casino structures can be used to make gambling more appealing to minors.
The estimates frame the scale of illegal betting and the reported exposure of young users for regulators and operators.
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Gaming Compliance International estimated that unregulated channels accounted for 69% of online stakes during the 2026 World Cup. Its study put total online wagering at $593bn, including $409bn through unregulated channels. GCI said 95% of the illegal streams it measured carried advertisements for unregulated gambling.
The Gambling Commission said around 1% of Britain’s gamblers used illegal platforms as of April 2026. Its survey found 0.6% had used such platforms in the previous four weeks, while 94.4% showed no sign of use. The regulator said it would combine this baseline with other data to assess and target interventions.
By April 2026, the Commission puts illegal-platform use at roughly 1% of Britain's gamblers, and says it is overall confident of that estimate. Sue Gardner, the acting chief executive, presented this to industry leaders during the regulator's yearly CEO briefing.
The Gambling Commission presented new UK illegal-gambling estimates on 5 November 2026, based on survey data collected between April 2025 and April 2026. A report questions the Commission’s description of illegal-market participation as low and stable, citing the newness of the measure, the survey sample and other indicators, including a 12% rise in September 2026 activity against the previous three-month average.
The Gambling Commission, Great Britain's gambling regulator, presented new illegal gambling figures on 5 November. Sue Young, the Commission's executive director of operations, said in the press release that participation in the illegal market appears low and stable on these indicators. The report questions that description.
Illegal sports betting is widespread in Switzerland across bars, restaurants, kiosks and club premises, according to an SRF Investigativ report. The intercantonal gambling authority Gespa describes the scene as "structural criminality" and estimates it generates around CHF300m illegally, the report said.
Switzerland's intercantonal gambling authority Gespa estimates that the illegal sports betting scene in the country generates around CHF300m, according to a report by SRF Investigativ. Gespa describes the scene as "structural criminality", the report said. Illegal sports betting is widespread in Switzerland, including in bars, restaurants, kiosks and club premises, the report said. To examine how the business works, SRF Investigativ went undercover into a bar in Lucerne and placed bets, the report said.
A study commissioned by the Brazilian Institute for Responsible Gaming estimated that illegal operators account for 38% to 44% of betting and handle R$32.9bn to R$43.3bn annually. The report also cited an industry association’s detection of 1,689 domains classified as illegal on 26 September, including 1,197 with active betting pages. A government measure bars new deposits at licensed companies and requires their sites and apps to close from 6 October, while the association’s legal consultant criticised the measure’s reach.