ONLINE NEWS
BGC claims number of British punters using black market sites ‘more than doubles’
The number of British punters using black market websites to place bets has more than doubled, a new report reveals.
It comes as UK industry body the Betting and Gaming Council warns of “the dangers of complacency” about the threat from unlicensed and illegal gambling operators. The PWC report is a brand new 66-page document based on data collected during November and December 2020.
It highlights a series of worrying trends, including a doubling of the money staked with unlicensed operators – a jump from £1.4bn to £2.8bn – compared to a similar study in 2019. The new data also shows the number of customers using an unlicensed betting website has grown from 210,000 two years ago to 460,000.
The report also highlights worrying global trends that show the size of the black market in other countries.
asked for information about the black market as part of its ‘Call for Evidence’, following widespread concerns raised by a number of parliamentarians.
FEARS
Fears have also been expressed, including from Gambling Commission consultation on affordability risks forcing ordinary punters towards the black market if checks on their income are too intrusive and onerous.
The BGC, the industry’s standards body, continues to support further changes to the regulated industry, but is urging ministers to make sure any brought forward as a result of the Gambling Review are carefully thought out. Michael Dugher, the BGC’s chief executive, said: “This new report by the PWC is an impressive and comprehensive piece of work which demonstrates how the unsafe, unregulated black market is a growing threat to British punters. “These illicit sites have none of the regulated sector’s consumer protections in place, such as messages and the ability to set deposit limits.” Mr Dugher said that as head of the standards body representing the regulated betting and gaming industry he welcomes wholeheartedly the Government’s Gambling Review.
```And he added: “It is important to stress that the big increase in the black market is not an argument against more changes to the regulated
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industry, but an argument that we need to get them right.”
PROPORTION
On the number of British punters using black market sites, the PWC report says: “Based on our survey, the proportion of UK online gamblers using an unlicensed operator has increased from 2.2 per cent to 4.5 per cent in the last 1-2 years. This equates to an increase from c210,000 in 2018-19 to c460,000 in 2020.”
It goes on: “A sizable and growing share of stakes is placed with unlicensed sites, growing over the last 1-2 years broadly in line with usage (ie doubling). Those that gamble with unlicensed operators still almost always gamble with licensed operators as well.
“Our survey found that share of online stakes with unlicensed operators had grown from 1.2 per cent in 2018/19 to 2.3 per cent. This corresponds to a doubling of stakes with unlicensed online operators from £1.4bn to £2.8bn.”
The new report also suggests that the size of the online black market is larger in countries where the regulated betting and gaming sector is less competitive.
It points to countries including France, Norway, Italy and Spain – which have tougher restrictions on licensed operators – as examples of nations where the black market share is bigger than in the UK. The report says: “This analysis suggests that the UK has a more ‘open’ online gambling market and currently has a smaller unlicensed market share than our European benchmarks.
“Whilst it is not possible to isolate the impact of individual regulatory characteristics, the above assessment suggests that jurisdictions with a higher unlicensed market share tend to exhibit one or more restrictive regulatory or licensing characteristics.”
Mr Dugher added: “I know this evidence is inconvenient to those who seek to dismiss and play down the threat of the black market, but there is a real danger of complacency.
“The UK risks sleep walking into changes where We all have an interest in getting future changes right, so must take heed of this latest evidence and look at what is happening elsewhere around the world.”
Mr Vegas Casino earns Sweden licence
Mr Vegas is set to make its debut in Sweden after winning its SGA licence.
Promising a fresh feel and bags of innovation, incorporates a growing number of player- friendly features.
years pursuing the casino’s distinctive URL, said: “We are super excited about Mr Vegas in “It is such a distinctive name too. I am Swedes in 2021’’.
Ali Atam, CMO added: “We are not short of competition out there, but players are always looking for something new and I think they are going to like what we have in store for them. “We can’t wait to launch the site in Sweden and see what people make of it!”
ZITRO Digital and ORYX form alliance
Global gaming supplier Zitro has partnered with leading iGaming platform provider and content aggregator ORYX Gaming to add its growing games portfolio to ORYX Hub.
Through the deal, Zitro’s content will become available to ORYX’s extensive network of operator partners across the globe via ORYX Hub, a platform featuring 10,000+ casino games from 100+ providers.
Zitro Digital offers a wide range of popular online content including world leading video bingo games and player favourite slot titles.
Sebastián Salat, CEO of Zitro, said: “Accelerating the growth of our digital business is one of our main goals to further position Zitro as a leading global gaming provider. We are immensely excited about this new collaboration with ORYX Gaming, which all stakeholders while giving more players access to our high-quality games that provide a fun and exciting experience.”
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