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Report

Illegal online gambling - Phase 1: Exploring consumer pathways into using illegal gambling websites

The Gambling Commission's report on the first phase of the Consumer Voice illegal gambling project.

Published
18 September 2025

Last updated
18 September 2025 - Changes

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Contents

Appendix C – Depth interview participant profiles

Intentional unlicensed site users

Noah

Age: 25 to 34.
Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI): 2.
Type of gambling: Online casino.
Hard indicators: VPN, foreign site, credit card, crypto, ID verification.
Routes in: Affiliate website, search engine.
Used unlicensed: Yes.

Fatima

Age: 25 to 34.
PGSI: 9.
Type of gambling: Online casino.
Hard indicators: VPN, foreign site, credit card, crypto, ID verification.
Routes in: Social media influencer, affliate website, word of mouth, gambling forum.
Used unlicensed: Yes.

Yara

Age: 35 to 44.
Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI): 24.
Type of gambling: Online casino.
Hard indicators: VPN, foreign site, credit card, crypto, ID verification.
Routes in: Search engine, afiliate website, gambling forum.
Used unlicensed: Yes.

Shaun

Age: 45 to 54.
Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI): 18.
Type of gambling: Online casino.
Hard indicators: Foreign site, credit card, crypto.
Routes in: Social media influencer, paid advertising.
Used unlicensed: Yes.

Aware of unlicensed but stumbled across the sites

Abdullah

Age: 25 to 34.
PGSI: 22.
Type of gambling: Sports betting, Online casino.
Hard indicators: VPN, foreign site, credit card, crypto, ID verification, NFTs.
Routes in: Social media influencer, affiliate website, paid advertising.
Used unlicensed: Yes.

Neil

Age: 25 to 34.
Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI): 16.
Type of gambling: Sports betting, Online casino.
Hard indicators: VPN, ID verification, crypto.
Routes in: Affiliate website, paid advertising.
Used unlicensed: Yes.

Unaware of unlicensed sites until the research

Daniel

Age: 55 to 64.
Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI): 6.
Type of gambling: Sports betting, Online casino.
Hard indicators: Foreign site, VPN.
Routes in: Search engine, social media influencer paid.
Used unlicensed: Yes.

Sam

Age: 45 to 54
Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI): 4.
Type of gambling: Sports betting, Online casino.
Hard indicators: Foreign site, credit card.
Routes in: Affiliate website, paid advertising.
Used unlicensed: Yes.

Non users who would consider using in the future

Even though they classed themselves as non-users, they suspected they may have stumbled across unlicensed websites in the past.

Mark

Age: 35 to 44.
Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI): 5.
Type of gambling: Sports betting, Online casino.
Hard indicators: ID verification, payment via Paypal.
Routes in: Search engine.
Used unlicensed: Yes.

Tim

Age: 18 to 24.
Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI): 1.
Type of gambling: Sports betting.
Hard indicators: VPN, foreign site.
Routes in: Word of mouth.
Used unlicensed: Yes.

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Appendix B – Quantitative survey questions Next section
Appendix D – Depth interview discussion guide
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