The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has issued fresh warnings over the dangers of using illegal and unregulated online black-market operators. These come as the UK government fully reviews the current state of the gambling industry in Britain.
Many politicians are arguing that the current legislation of the 2005 Gambling Act is outdated and not fit for purpose in this digital era.
However, the BGC has issued warnings about the implications that could arise regarding the safety of black-market operators.
A report from PwC revealed that approximately 200,000 customers had used an unregulated and unlicensed gambling operator between 2018 and 2019.
On top of this, players visited unregulated operators approximately 27 million times, resulting in wagers of around £2.4 billion.
Michael Dugher, chief executive of the BGC, said: “As the standards body for the regulated industry, we strongly welcome the Gambling Review, which we think is a great opportunity to drive further change on safer gambling.
“However, these figures demonstrate the danger of unintentionally driving punters into the arms of the illegal, online black market – which offers none of the protections of the regulated sector.”
As the debate over the UK gambling mission marches forward, it is clear that there needs to be considerations made to ensure that players are not pushed towards these unregulated sites. The gambling industry is bigger than ever – and the digital landscape is very different compared to how it was in 2005.
