New data unveiled by the trade body representing the regulated gambling industry in the UK has shown that the number of local punters visiting unregulated black market gambling platforms on the Internet tripled during the 2022 World Cup.
This week, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) referenced research held by Yield Sec when citing some data, according to which a total of 250,000 British people visited black market websites in December alone. In comparison, the number of local punters who visited such websites in 2021 was significantly lower – 80,000.
As explained by the organisation that represents the legal gambling sector in the country, the analysis was aimed at evaluating the scale of gambling on the black market during 2022, including the period of the World Cup competition that took place between November 20th and December 18th, 2022 in Qatar.
The Yield Sec research further found that online traffic to websites that promoted such services to gambling addicts who had excluded themselves from licensed and regulated UK operators increased by 83%. According to data provided by the leading research firm, the peaks in British users’ traffic to black market online gambling platforms were registered in March and June 2022, at the time when the Cheltenham and Ascot horseracing events took place, respectively.
Worrying Trend: More Than 64,500 Vulnerable Brits Searched for Black Market Gambling Websites During Qatar World Cup
Michael Dugher, the CEO of the Betting and Gaming Council, shared that the results of the research had exposed the serious threat that was being posed by the growing unregulated black market to local punters. He noted that the regulated gambling sector was required to make sure young and vulnerable people were protected against possible harm during the 2022 World Cup and had to remain in line with strict regulations and safer gambling requirements, companies that operated on the unregulated market did exactly the opposite and preyed on the most vulnerable members of society.
Currently, all regulated gambling and sports betting companies in the UK are required to sign up to GAMSTOP – a system that allows users to opt out of gambling and automatically blocks their access to all regulated gambling websites in the country.
According to Mr Dugher, the research data shows that the World Cup competition enhanced a range of worrying trends in the UK gambling sector, and more specifically not in the regulated gambling sector as predicted by various campaigners but in the unregulated online black market.
As also revealed by the Betting and Gaming Council, the number of UK customers’ visits to black market gambling websites rose by 46% last year, with around 148,000 punters accessing such platforms on a monthly basis. Yield Sec’s landmark report found that during the November-December period in 2022, gambling websites that are not linked to GAMSTOP have seen the number of visits rise by almost 83% from 26.88% more unique customers in comparison to the two previous months. The report showed they spent an average of 78% more time on site.
During the time when the World Cup in Qatar took place, more than 64,500 vulnerable players searched for unlicensed and unregulated online gambling platforms offering services circumventing the GAMSTOP scheme. According to industry reports, it takes less than 30 seconds for a player to sign up top a black market website before placing their first bet. In comparison, creating an account with a regulated gambling operator in the UK takes approximately 12 minutes due to the strict ID and age verification checks required to be completed by licensed gambling companies to prevent fraud and problem gambling.
- Author
Daniel Williams
