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UK Launches Illegal Gambling Taskforce as Black Market Stakes Hit £16.6 Billion

DCMS terms of reference published 13 May target payment flows and online advertising for unlicensed operators, days after BGC-commissioned data showed UK offshore stakes have tripled since 2019.

Category: iGaming News - UK · By Growl Games Editorial Team · Fri May 15 2026 · Updated Thu Jul 23 2026

UK Launches Illegal Gambling Taskforce as Black Market Stakes Hit £16.6 Billion

Contents

1. Summary

The UK's Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) published the terms of reference for a new Illegal Gambling Taskforce on 13 May 2026. The body's launch follows fresh H2 Gambling Capital research, released by the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) in early May, showing UK offshore stakes have reached £16.6 billion in 2025 — more than triple the 2019 figure. It also follows acting UKGC chief executive Sarah Gardner's 7 May speech announcing tougher technical-licence enforcement on land-based machines and £26 million in new government funding to fight illegal gambling.

2. The £16.6 Billion Black Market

The H2 Gambling Capital study, commissioned by the BGC, puts UK black-market stakes at £16.6 billion in 2025, up from roughly £5 billion in 2019. The market has doubled in just the past two years, with the sharpest growth between 2023 and 2025. The share of UK gambling occurring on regulated sites has slipped from 97% to 92% over the same period. Black-market gross gambling yield has climbed from £200 million to £685 million.

A separate WARC analysis cited by the BGC found unlicensed operators now account for almost half of UK gambling advertising spend — roughly £800 million of a £1.9 billion total this year — and are projected to spend a cumulative £1 billion annually by 2028. While the regulated sector is cutting ad spend by 9.2% in 2026, illegal operators are increasing theirs by 32%. A Yield Sec analysis cited by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling estimates illegal operators control around 9% of Britain's online gambling market.

3. The New Illegal Gambling Taskforce

The taskforce, whose terms of reference DCMS published on 13 May, has three core priorities: stopping payment flows to and from illegal operators; removing illegal gambling advertising from online platforms; and improving cross-agency enforcement coordination across both land-based and remote gambling. Three subgroups will each handle one priority and report back to the main body.

The Minister of Museums, Heritage and Gambling will chair the taskforce, with the DCMS Director of Sport and Gambling as co-chair. Membership combines licensed operators, technology platforms, payment providers, regulators and government departments. Meetings will operate under Chatham House rule; the government has chosen not to publish member names. The body has no authority to override UK Gambling Commission decisions and will run for 12 months — the main group meeting twice a year, subgroups at least quarterly — before a review on whether to continue.

4. UKGC Enforcement Push

Speaking at the Bingo Association AGM on 7 May, UKGC acting chief executive Sarah Gardner outlined parallel regulator action. From 29 July 2026, non-remote operators must immediately remove gaming machines if the Commission determines they lack the correct technical licence or fail to meet technical standards. Gardner confirmed £26 million in new government funding over three years to support the regulator's work against illegal gambling, with a particular focus on land-based venues. The full response to the machines consultation is due this summer.

The UKGC is also recruiting a Head of Illegal Markets at a £65,000 salary — a newly created role to lead enforcement investigations and shape the regulator's response to offshore growth. Industry observers have criticised the salary level as low for the scale of the brief.

5. Industry Pushback on Affordability Checks

Flutter Entertainment CEO Peter Jackson, in a week in which Flutter revised 2026 revenue guidance citing "punter-friendly" sports results, argued the UKGC's pilot of financial-risk checks has shown the assessments cannot be performed in a "frictionless" manner as originally promised. Jackson said pressing ahead risks pushing more customers to illegal operators and called for a pause. Labour MP Sally Jameson backed the position in an open letter on the BGC website, raising "serious questions" over the pilot's results.

The remote gaming duty (RGD) rose from 21% to 40% on 1 April 2026, and bingo duty was abolished on the same day. A new general betting duty rate of 25% for remote betting is set for April 2027. The BGC argues the combination of higher duties, slot stake caps (£2 for under-25s, £5 for over-25s) and tightening checks is accelerating displacement to offshore sites.

6. What's Next

The taskforce's first reportable outputs are expected within the year. Practical impact will hinge on the willingness of payment providers and platforms to act — the body has no statutory enforcement powers of its own. The UKGC's formal response to the gaming-machines consultation, due this summer, will set the parameters for immediate removal powers from 29 July. For UK-licensed operators, the policy question is whether harm-reduction tightening can be paced so it doesn't, as the BGC warns, hand more share to the black market. For unlicensed operators targeting UK customers, the message from DCMS is that payment rails and ad inventory are now in scope.

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