Illegal gambling and crime
This theme is about improving our knowledge of the extent and impact of the illegal gambling market. It is also important to understand how gambling is linked to criminal activity and understanding crime as a dimension of gambling-related harm.
Roadmap - Illegal gambling
Sub-topics for this roadmap are:
- Collecting GB data on participation in, and levels of awareness of, online illegal gambling
- Drivers for using the illegal online market
- Impact of regulatory actions and industry practices on displacement to the online illegal market
- International collaborations around use of data and evidence
- The role of streaming platforms, social media and the dark web in the illegal online market
- Participation in, and motivations for illegal land-based gambling.
At present, some evidence is available pertaining to the scale and nature of the illegal online gambling market in Great Britain. However, key gaps remain. While some studies have provided data relative to the participation in, and awareness of illegal gambling, further work based on reliable methodologies is needed to achieve a robust estimate for Great Britain.
Some research has suggested that regulatory practices might lead consumers to engage with the illegal online gambling market. Others have also shown that some consumers may access illegal gambling websites to circumvent account restrictions. Given the current level of evidence available, more research in this area is essential to assess the role of both regulatory and industry practices – alongside other motivators - in potentially displacing consumers to the illegal online gambling market.
Furthermore, very little evidence exists which explores the relationship between the illegal online gambling market, and clandestine and novel sources. This includes, but is not limited to cryptocurrency, streaming platforms, social media and the dark web. Research in this area could significantly contribute towards strengthening the evidence base for illegal online gambling, and help to inform corresponding action from government, industry and regulators.
Finally, illegal land-based gambling is a relatively unexplored area. Research is needed to establish understanding of the levels of participation, as well as consumer motivations for engaging in illegal land-based gambling.
Forward look - Illegal gambling and crime
Illegal gambling is an international concern, and stakeholders in many countries regularly report estimated engagement with the illegal market, and the drivers for those behaviours, within those jurisdictions. We expect the publication of these reports to continue and will review contents and approaches for potential improvements to our estimation model.
We recognise that research into novel forms of illegal gambling and illegal land-based gambling can be difficult to conduct due to the emerging and/or secretive nature of the activities; we make no recommendations on the most appropriate approach for doing so due to these difficulties and the necessity for it to very topic-specific.
Moving forward, the Commission plans to continue to monitor engagement with the illegal online gambling market through further consumer research and will continue monitoring trends through data-led work. This will include work to continue to develop and refine our models to increase the accuracy of our illegal online market engagement and size estimation, as well as incorporate more data sources into the approach. We will also be collecting robust data through the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) regarding the proportion of respondents who report intentionally using illegal gambling websites and those who report engaging with indicators of illegal online gambling.
Are you conducting research or planning to conduct research on any of our priority topics? If so, please tell us about it by completing our online form (opens in new tab).
Find out more about our other evidence roadmaps. You can find links to the other themes in the related content section.
Last updated: 23 October 2025
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