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  3. Phase 4: Illegal Gambling Index – Technical Report

Report

Phase 4: Illegal Gambling Index – Technical Report

The Gambling Commission’s technical report detailing the development of the Illegal Gambling Index.

Published
5 November 2026

Last updated
5 November 2026 - Changes

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Contents

The final statements for the GSGB

Following the post-fieldwork analysis phase, 7 statements have been finalised8 and selected for piloting in the GSGB survey, as shown in this section.

(Asked to all respondents)

Randomise statements

Have you ever…

  • B1_A. Used a Virtual Private Network (VPN) specifically to access a gambling website that was not otherwise available in Great Britain
  • B1_B. Placed a bet and/or played a game on a gambling website using cryptocurrency (e.g. Bitcoin)
  • B1_C. Placed a bet and/or played a game on a gambling website using money directly from your credit card (that can be paid off each month)
  • B1_D. Placed a bet and/or played a game on a gambling website using Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) or virtual assets
  • B1_E. Signed up to a gambling website because you knew you wouldn’t need to verify your age or identity
  • B1_F. Cancelled a withdrawal before it reached your bank and/or wallet on a gambling website
  • A3S. Used a gambling website that you knew was not on Gamstop

(Drop down definition)

Gamstop is a free online tool that, if you sign up, prevents you from using gambling websites and apps run by companies licensed in Great Britain, for a period of your choosing.

  1. Yes, in the past 4 weeks
  2. Yes, in the past 12 months
  3. Yes, more than 12 months ago
  4. No, never
  5. Don’t know
  6. Prefer not to say

This statement list preceded a question concerning intentional illegal gambling website usage, shown in the next section.

(Asked to all respondents)

In Great Britain, gambling websites are regulated by the Gambling Commission. As the regulator, the Commission provides licences to companies allowing them to operate in Britain if they meet a set of rules and requirements. Examples of some gambling companies licensed by the Gambling Commission include well-known companies such as William Hill, Bet365, Ladbrokes, and Coral.

Sometimes, however, there are some gambling companies that operate gambling websites in Great Britain without having a licence from the Commission. These websites may have a licence to operate in a different country, or not have one at all, from any country.

Question A1. Have you intentionally9 gambled on a gambling website that did not have a licence to operate in Great Britain?

We want to assure you that the information you provide in this survey is completely confidential, and that individuals who gamble with unlicensed websites are not engaging in illegal activity.

  1. Yes, in the past 4 weeks
  2. Yes, in the past 12 months
  3. Yes, more than 12 months ago
  4. No, never
  5. Don’t know
  6. Prefer not to say

(Asked to all respondents who report intentionally using an illegal gambling website in the past 4 weeks.)

Question A2. Which gambling website(s) have you used in the last 4 weeks that you believe do not have a licence from the Gambling Commission?

Everything you tell us is completely confidential, we’ll only use this information to check the licensing status of these companies for research purposes. 

References

8As outlined in later sections of this report, although the analytical approach applied to these questions was modified during piloting, the questions themselves were not revised after the pilot phase and have been retained as the final GSGB questions for ongoing use. The exception to this, is Question A2 which has been removed from the GSGB following piloting, the explanation for which is documented later in this report.

9The word ‘intentionally’ was underlined when presented to respondents, to emphasis this part of the survey question.

Previous section
Statement development during Phase 2
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