Report
Illegal online gambling - Phase 2: Identifying indicators of consumer engagement with illegal gambling websites
The Gambling Commission's report on the second phase of the Consumer Voice illegal gambling project.
Contents
Executive summary
Motivations and routes
Overall, engagement with the motivations and factors associated with usage of illegal gambling websites was low. When choosing a website to gamble with, respondents identified as having used an illegal gambling website (through reporting intentionally doing so themselves, and/or through the reporting of indicators of illegal website usage), were significantly more likely to rank considerations relating to the illegal market in their top 3. Some of these factors related closely to the types of behaviours that are only available in the illegal market, namely:
- accessing games or products not available in Great Britain (16 percent of illegal gambling website users, compared with 4 percent of all respondents)
- avoiding bans or account restrictions (12 percent of illegal gambling website users, compared with 3 percent of all respondents)
- finding websites that do not require me to verify my age or identity before allowing me to gamble (12 percent of illegal gambling website users, compared with 3 percent of all respondents)
- finding websites that do not require me to verify my age or identity before allowing me to gamble (12 percent of illegal gambling website users, compared with 3 percent of all respondents)
- paying with different methods than usual (11 percent of illegal gambling website users, compared with 3 percent of all respondents)
- avoiding GAMSTOP (7 percent of illegal gambling website users, compared with 2 percent of all respondents)
- avoiding Gamban (5 percent of illegal gambling website users, compared with 2 percent of all respondents).
Additionally, illegal gambling website users were more likely to name high returns (that is, high return to player (RTP) percentages) (15 percent, compared with 9 percent of all respondents) in their top 3, as well as playing or discovering new games (13 percent, compared with 5 percent of all respondents).
These findings support the qualitative evidence from Phase 1 that there are a distinct group of individuals who gamble that are motivated to do so in the illegal market because of what it provides them that is not available in the licensed market – such as if they have been banned or blocked, or if they want to gamble using a specific payment method or product that is not available in Great Britain. For others, though, the illegal market is an extension of their overall approach to gambling, in which they seek out fun, new experiences, or better rewards for winning.
Illegal gambling website users were also asked how they became aware of the website(s) they used in the last 4 weeks. Mostly, respondents used self-find methods, such as search engines (23 percent), or used websites they had gambled with before (19 percent). Social media was another key route (30 percent), particularly Facebook (14 percent), Telegram (9 percent), WhatsApp (9 percent), and to a lesser extent, Instagram (8 percent) and Reddit (7 percent). Social media was more likely to be cited by those 18 to 24 years old (41 percent), those in the AB social grade (35 percent), but also by those that had self-excluded before using GAMSTOP (55 percent), indicating a potential concern of targeted advertising.
Additionally, one tenth (10 percent) of respondents specifically cited influencers as their route into an illegal gambling website. Again, this builds on findings from the first phase that both private and open communities for people who gamble served as routes into illegal websites for those searching for knowledge and discussion around their motivations for gambling.
Where respondents either directly self-reported gambling on illegal gambling websites or demonstrated they may have done so via identification with indicators, they were asked about their gambling habits in the last 4 weeks; the majority (52 percent) reported exclusively using licensed websites. 3 in 10 (30 percent) reported they had primarily used licensed websites, with 10 percent primarily reporting having used illegal websites, though none reported using illegal websites exclusively.
Features
Among illegal gambling website users, self-reported spend was more skewed towards licensed websites, with nearly three-quarters (74 percent) reporting that in the last 4 weeks they spent more money on licensed websites than on illegal websites1. 3 in 20 (15 percent) of this group reported an equal distribution of spend on both types of websites, and only 4 percent reported spending more on illegal websites. These findings support the qualitative evidence from Phase 1 that while engagement with illegal gambling websites exists, it is typically supplementary rather than exclusive, with most favouring spending time or money on licensed platforms.
In the online illegal market, the types of activities reported to be the most engaged in were online betting on football (30 percent), online bingo (20 percent), and online fruit, slot, or virtual gaming (19 percent).
Indicators
For this phase of the research, indicators of illegal gambling website usage were given a strength rating, from ‘near certain’ through to ‘weaker’. The ratings were based on qualitative insights from Phase 1, contextualisation of respondent understanding via their verbatim responses to Phase 2, reliance on survey design and subject matter experience on the part of Yonder and the Commission, and an awareness of potential issues with self-reporting, particularly on a topic related to illegal activity (even where the illegality is on the part of the operator, rather than the respondent). The ratings were assigned to provide the Commission with a hierarchy of indicators through which they could assess an individual’s engagement with the illegal market.
This phase of the research included 3 self-reported ‘near certain’ indicators:
- intentional use of an illegal gambling website, with the website being verified as illegal by Yonder (9 percent of the total sample reported they had ever done so)
- signing up to a gambling website without age or identity verification (10 percent of the total sample reported they had ever done so)
- cancelling a withdrawal before it reached their bank or wallet (again, 10 percent reported they had ever done so).
In addition, there were 4 self-reported ‘strong’ indicators:
- finding a way to gamble on websites using own account despite GAMSTOP ban (4 percent of the total sample reported they had ever done so)
- using a VPN specifically to access a gambling website that was not otherwise available in Great Britain (9 percent of the total sample reported they had ever done so)
- depositing cryptocurrency (such as, Bitcoin) to gamble on a website (9 percent of the total sample reported they had ever done so)
- depositing NFTs or virtual assets to gamble on a website (7 percent of the total sample reported they had ever done so).
And, finally, one self-reported ‘weaker’ indicator – depositing money on a gambling website using a credit card (23 percent of the total sample reported they had done so, ever). Although this is the most commonly reported indicator, it is important to consider the legislative context for this indicator: in 2020, the Gambling Commission banned operators from allowing customers to deposit on a gambling website using a credit card. There was some room for respondents to have engaged in this activity pre-ban if they selected ‘Yes, ever’ (as 9 percent of respondents did), thus meaning it is a weaker indicator. For the remaining 14 percent, it is possible that there were some issues with understanding of what it means to deposit using a credit card versus a debit card2.
References
1Spend here refers to the amount of money deposited onto gambling websites, and does not account for any withdrawals made.
2A fifth of Brits don't know the difference between credit and debit cards (opens in new tab)
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Findings - Illegal online gambling: Phase 2
Last updated: 18 September 2025
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