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New research on consumer behaviours in the illegal gambling market

18 September 2025

The Gambling Commission has today published the first in a series of reports examining the illegal online gambling market in Great Britain.

This first instalment focuses on consumer behaviours, motivations, and personas – offering new insights into who engages with illegal gambling websites, how they encounter them, and the drivers behind their engagement.

Andrew Rhodes, Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission, said: “The illegal online market is unsafe, unfair and criminal - that is why the Commission has invested heavily in this area in recent years.

“To be even more effective in combatting the illegal market it’s vital that we have both a deep and broad understanding of how it operates, and this insight is a crucial step in building that understanding in a very complex area to research.

“We are determined to protect consumers and maintain confidence in the regulated sector by taking robust, evidence-led action. Since April 2024 we’ve seen a ten-fold increase in our disruption activity, and we intend to continue to work with a wide range of partners to build on this success.”

What will be included in the next instalments?

This release marks the start of a phased publication which will, over the coming months, provide a fuller picture of the illegal online market, including:

  • Section 2: Engagement data and trends
  • Section 3: Enforcement and disruption activity, highlighting the work of the Illegal Markets Team
  • Section 4: The challenges of estimating the size of the illegal online market in Great Britain.

Alongside today’s report, the Commission has launched a new Illegal Gambling Hub, which brings together research, enforcement updates, and advice for interested parties on how to identify illegal or unlicensed gambling.

Last updated: 18 September 2025

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