BGC Unveils Five-Point Plan to Tackle UK Black Market

⏱ 3 min read

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) launched a five-point illegal gambling action plan on 8 June 2026, warning that black market betting stakes in the UK could nearly double from £17 billion in 2025 to over £33 billion by 2028.

The trade body, which represents roughly 90% of Britain's licensed betting and gaming sector, says that without intervention almost one in five pounds staked online could end up with unlicensed operators within three years — a shift with major implications for licensed operators, advertisers, payment providers, and bettors across the regulated market.

The Warning: A Doubling Black Market

The plan rests on forecasts from H2 Gambling Capital, an independent gambling data consultancy, projecting that illegal operator stakes will rise from £17 billion in 2025 to more than £33 billion by 2028. BGC chief executive Grainne Hurst called the figures a "wake-up call," noting that black market profits and stakes have already roughly doubled between 2023 and 2025.

The BGC also cited research from WARC showing illegal operators now account for nearly half of all UK gambling advertising spend, with the potential to overtake licensed advertisers by 2028. The council argues unlicensed sites carry out no age verification, no safer-gambling checks, pay no UK tax, and offer bettors no route to dispute resolution.

---

The Five-Point Plan

The BGC's proposal calls on government, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC), social media platforms, search engines, and payment providers to coordinate against unlicensed operators. The five measures are:

• Make social media companies responsible for removing illegal gambling promotions and ads.
• Give the UKGC stronger powers to block illegal websites and remove unlicensed apps.
• Require payment providers to cut off transactions linked to unlicensed sites.
• Introduce penalties for firms that knowingly facilitate illegal operators via advertising, payments, or hosting.
• Strengthen criminal sanctions against those who run or profit from illegal gambling targeting UK consumers.

---

Enforcement So Far vs. What's Needed

The UKGC's Illegal Markets team has already been active. Since April 2024, it has issued thousands of disruption notices and referred hundreds of thousands of search URLs linked to unlicensed gambling for removal. The table below compares current enforcement output against the BGC's stated targets.

Measure	Current Position (since April 2024)	BGC's Ask
Cease-and-desist notices	3,140 issued by UKGC	Faster, broader issuance
URLs referred to Google/Bing	447,778 referred	Quicker turnaround on removals
URLs removed	287,961 removed	Higher removal rate, fewer mirror sites
Site/app blocking powers	Limited, "early stage"	Stronger statutory blocking powers
Payment-channel cutoffs	Not formalised	Mandatory provider cooperation

---

The New Illegal Gambling Taskforce

The campaign follows the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) publishing terms of reference for a new Illegal Gambling Taskforce, bringing together gambling bodies, law enforcement, regulators, payment firms, and tech companies. The BGC welcomed the taskforce as "a positive step" but said it must translate into concrete action, particularly on payments and advertising.

The push also lands as Emma Floyd took over on 8 June 2026 as DCMS Director of Sport and Gambling, replacing Ben Dean. Floyd, a long-serving civil servant with no prior gambling-sector background, now inherits one of the most contested regulatory briefs in Whitehall at the same moment the black market debate is intensifying.

---

What It Means for Operators and Bettors

For licensed operators, the plan signals continued lobbying pressure to tighten the regulatory net around competitors operating outside UKGC licensing — while also warning policymakers that overly restrictive rules on the legal market could push players toward unregulated sites. For bettors, the core message is one of consumer protection: unlicensed platforms offer none of the safeguards — self-exclusion, identity checks, dispute resolution — that licensed operators must provide.

• Expect increased scrutiny of gambling ads on social platforms in coming months.
• Payment providers may face new compliance obligations around suspected black market transactions.
• The debate could shape how the new DCMS director approaches the next phase of gambling reform.

---

Sources

This article draws on the BGC's published statement and independent coverage from gambling-industry trade press.

The black market is growing fast, becoming more visible and attracting billions of pounds in stakes from British consumers. These forecasts are a wake-up call for everyone involved in protecting consumers.

— Grainne Hurst, Chief Executive, Betting and Gaming Council · Five-Point Plan Launch, 8 June 2026