Study finds illegal gambling in Britain growing at alarming rate

The British Horseracing Authority has released the findings of a study that claims monthly unique visits to illegal and unlicenced betting websites increased from 1.8 million to 25 million between 2022 and 2025.

The study, published by by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities’ (IFHA) Council on Anti-Illegal Betting and Related Crime, analysed the website traffic of over 300 popular betting websites used in Britain, comprising 74 legal and 227 illegal betting websites.

The principal finding is that over the first seven months of 2026, there were 19.4 visits to illegal sites for every 100 visits to legal operators, a rate of around one in five.

The BHA warned racing faced “severe financial implications” in July after the Gambling Commission confirmed Financial Risk Assessments – known widely in racing circles as affordability checks – would be implemented, and chief executive Brant Dunshea feels the study’s findings confirm those concerns are now being realised.

He said in a statement: “Throughout the Gambling Act Review, British racing consistently warned that even well-intentioned policy changes could have unintended consequences for our sport, including driving more customers towards the illegal market.

“This research provides worrying evidence that those concerns are now being realised, with an increasing number of consumers seemingly conducting their betting with illegal operators.

“Every racing customer who moves from a licensed operator to an illegal one faces greater risks and fewer consumer protections. These unlicensed businesses also contribute nothing to British racing or to the public finances.

“We recognise the Commission’s recent increase in enforcement activity, but we will be sharing these findings with Government and urging it to work with us to keep bettors within the regulated market as this leakage continues to grow.”

The study reports customers are also spending longer on illegal and unlicenced sites. Between October 2024 and July 2026, average visit duration rose by 32 per cent, from five minutes and 38 seconds to seven minutes 25 seconds.

These findings come as the Government steps up its activity to tackle the betting black market, with HM Treasury awarding the Gambling Commission £26m at the 2025 Budget and the creation of the DCMS Illegal Gambling Taskforce in January 2026. A consultation was also launched over the summer proposing a ban on all sponsorship and advertising from unlicensed operators, an approach that the BHA supports.

However, Dunshea added: “While the taskforce’s creation was welcomed as a positive development, it is over nine months since that initial announcement was made, and progress so far has been limited. We therefore look forward to working with the new Gambling Minister, Vicky Foxcroft, to inject some urgency into this process.

“This study is another clear reminder that gambling regulation must be balanced and proportionate, allowing people who bet safely on racing to continue doing so without unnecessary disruption.”