Report
Illegal online gambling - Phase 3: Understanding push factors for consumer engagement with illegal gambling websites
The Gambling Commission's research into consumer engagement with the illegal online gambling market.
Introduction
Under the Gambling Act 2005 (opens in new tab), a core licensing objective of the Gambling Commission, is to prevent gambling from being a source of, or associated with, crime . Any proliferation of websites offering gambling products to consumers in Great Britain without a Gambling Commission licence, making them illegal gambling websites, directly challenges this objective.
Combating this illegal activity is a primary focus of the Commission's Corporate Strategy 2024 to 2027, which aims to make it difficult to provide illegal online gambling at scale to consumers in Great Britain. Enforcement activity is already accelerating; as former Chief Executive Andrew Rhodes recently noted, the "unsafe, unfair, and criminal" nature of these websites has prompted a ten-fold increase in disruption activity since April 2024, alongside the launch of a new Illegal Gambling Hub. However, sustaining this success requires a robust, evidence-led understanding of how the complex network of illegal gambling websites operates and who uses them.
Both historically and today, the hidden nature of illegal online gambling makes it difficult to research. The Commission’s work is designed to directly address the ‘Illegal gambling and crime’ roadmap within the Commission’s Evidence Gaps and Priorities. To build a complete picture, this research is being triangulated with a pioneering data project that integrates web monitoring, online traffic and search data with enforcement disruption activity to measure trends across different points in the illegal online gambling supply chain. Ultimately, this combined insight will support the Commission’s indicative tracking of illegal online gambling website user composition via the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) and measure the ongoing impact of both enforcement disruptions and regulated policy changes on user engagement.
Throughout this report, it should be noted that while insights are rich and detailed, they represent the attitudes and behaviours of a minority of individuals who gamble. This report focuses on this specific subset of individuals who use illegal gambling websites but should not be mistaken as widespread amongst the majority of people who gamble on licensed websites.
Phases of the illegal gambling research
Phase
Description of phase
April to June 2024
Aim: To conduct initial discovery into a previously un-researched area. The goal was to move from a position of limited knowledge to one of foundational understanding by exploring the motivations of illegal gambling website users and identifying the core consumer groups.
Method: Informed by a quantitative incidence test with 1,000 individuals who gamble online, Yonder conducted 10 qualitative depth interviews with suspected illegal gambling website users and 2 focus groups with individuals with lived experience (recruited via the Gambling Commission’s Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP).
Outputs: The qualitative element of this phase provided the foundational framework for all subsequent research by identifying 4 key consumer personas: Self-Excluders, Skilled Advocates, Social Explorers, and Accidental Tourists.
The full report from Phase 1 is avaliable to read.
December 2024
Aim: To build on the qualitative discovery from Phase 1 by assessing a suite of behavioural indicators for illegal website usage, the result of which is the Illegal Incidence Index, a core measurement framework to be used for ongoing tracking in the Gambling Survey of Great Britain (GSGB). Phase 1 and Phase 2, cumulatively, provide a detailed picture of the pull factors to the illegal market and the ways in which illegal gambling website gambling companies make themselves attractive to consumers.
Method: Quantitative survey with a sample of 2,043 individuals who gamble online. The questionnaire was designed to test awareness, motivations, and indications of illegal gambling website usage.
Outputs: This phase developed the measurement framework for the entire research programme. It explored the suite of indicators and the index methodology that would be integrated into the GSGB in Phase 4.
The full report from Phase 2 is available to read.
February to July 2026
To build upon all previous learnings, building an analytical methodology through which to quantify persona composition, and identify the primary 'push factors' contributing to consumer usage of unlicensed gambling websites.
Method: A multi-method approach that triangulated findings from 3 distinct streams:
- Digital Intelligence to analyse online conversations and form hypotheses
- Quantitative survey of 4,000 individuals who gamble online to measure behaviour
- Qualitative exploration with focus groups to understand the human experiences and the 'why' behind the data.
Outputs: Creation of the Illegal Incidence Index, a tool which was subsequently integrated into the Gambling Survey of Great Britain (GSGB), enabling a robust, large-scale understanding of online illegal gambling website use.
January 2025 to November 20261
Aim: To create a single metric that would allow the Gambling Commission to track consumer engagement with the illegal online gambling on a national scale over time.
Method: A composite index approach was developed, combining statistical data from the Phase 2 survey with expert qualitative input from the Commission, industry stakeholders, and individuals with lived experience (the Gambling Commission’s LEAP).
Outputs: Creation of the Illegal Incidence Index, a tool which was subsequently integrated into the Gambling Survey of Great Britain (GSGB), enabling a robust, large-scale understanding of online illegal gambling website use. Release of a technical report outlining the development of the Index will be published by the Commission alongside findings from the first 4 waves a year’s worth of GSGB illegal gambling data. These publications will form Phase 4 of this research series and are scheduled for release in November 2026.
While the wider research project spans 4 phases, the findings detailed in the remainder of this report focus specifically on phase 4. Building directly on the groundwork of previous stages, this phase used a multi-method approach, combining digital, quantitative and qualitative research to build upon all previous learnings.
Overarching study objectives
Specifically, this research sought to understand a number of objectives:
- Audience sizing: understanding the user composition of those that engage with illegal gambling websites
- Pathways and triggers: the specific routes, search processes, and triggers that lead consumers to illegal gambling websites
- Consumer motivations: delving into the emotions and rationale behind the numbers to understand the underlying drivers for using illegal gambling websites and factors that may influence future usage
- Knowledge gaps: consumer awareness of licensing and the ability to differentiate between licensed and illegal online gambling companies
- Regulatory and gambling company impact: exploring whether specific regulatory factors or licensed gambling company practices have a role to play in influencing consumers use of illegal gambling websites, and whether consumers can distinguish between the two
- Consumer attitudes and control: exploring consumer attitudes towards illegal gambling websites and whether consumers attempt to control their usage of illegal gambling websites.
References
Although the development of the Illegal Index and technical report was underway prior to Phase 3 beginning, it was not completed until the Commission analysed the first 4 waves of GSGB illegal gambling data, which occurred after the conclusion of Phase 3.
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Last updated: 20 October 2026
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