UK Gambling Commission publishes illegal gambling data

The UK Gambling Commission published new estimates on consumer use of illegal gambling sites on 5 November. The data was collected through the UK Gambling Survey (GSGB) and presented alongside an updated Illegal Gambling Data Dashboard.

Of the survey respondents, 94.4 percent said they had not used an illegal site. 0.6 percent said they had interacted with such sites in the last four weeks, while 0.4 percent said they had done so in the last 12 months but not in the last four weeks. Among people who gamble online, the rates were higher: 2.5 percent in the last four weeks and 1.5 percent in the last 12 months but not in the last four weeks.

Use of illegal sites was higher among men than women. In the last 12 months, it was most common among young adults aged 18 to 24, while interaction among people aged 25 to 34 was more pronounced in the last four weeks.

The Commission said the dashboard will be updated every six months. A technical report and two blog posts were also published. One of the blog posts introduced the Illegal Gambling Index, which aims to measure consumer engagement. Sue Young, Executive Director of Operations at the Commission, said that participation in the illegal market appears low and stable across the general population, but online gamblers who use illegal operators are more likely to be harmed.