The UK’s Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has highlighted the findings of a new report that underscored the dangers of the global illegal online gambling market. According to that study, the black market generated an eleven-figure revenue in 2025 alone.
Report Says Illegal Gambling Is Now a Mature and Sophisticated Ecosystem
The BGC said that the report, compiled by Fincord Intelligence, estimates that unlicensed gaming companies generated roughly $50 billion in revenue in 2025, highlighting the severe nature of this problem.
To make matters worse, these illegal operators often target self-excluded players, flaunting their lack of identity checks, financial checks, and betting limits. Such platforms’ ads often find their way to the players via search engines, social media, affiliates, and influencers, the research states.
The report also highlights some of the tactics illicit companies use to circumvent regulation. Some of these include mirror domains and VPN access, which make such companies very difficult to weed out.
To put things into perspective, Fincord’s report is based on some 5,000 operator structures that used as many as 15,000 websites and apps.
The illegal gambling concerns are not new or in any way unique. In war-torn Ukraine, for example, gambling businesses with ties to Russia have continued to target local audiences, effectively contributing to Russia’s economy, while creating financial and national security risks for Ukraine.
Fincord Intelligence acknowledged the fact that simply blocking unlicensed operators is not a viable long-term strategy and suggested that governments should also target intermediaries, such as payment providers, affiliates and marketers, software suppliers, and infrastructure hosts.
Blocking Operator Websites Might Be Insufficient
A spokesperson for Fincord explained that the current illegal gambling ecosystem is based on a sophisticated international network of operators, payment providers, crypto services, technology suppliers, and marketers.
In Britain, these networks target customers – including people who have self-excluded – through social media, messaging platforms and mirror sites. The Ukraine case demonstrates how the same type of interconnected infrastructure can also create wider financial crime and national security risks.
Fincord Intelligence spokesperson
The spokesperson suggested that relying on simply blocking individual websites is no longer a winning strategy.
Grainne Hurst, CEO of the BGC, commented on the report’s findings, emphasizing that the research shows that illegal gambling is “no longer simply a regulatory issue.” She acknowledged the risks the mature black market poses and encouraged the government to heed Fincord’s suggestions.
The Government must step up its efforts to coordinate law enforcement, regulators, payment providers and technology companies to target the networks supporting these operators – not just individual websites.
Grainne Hurst, CEO, BGC
In the meantime, the BGC just forecast that players will spend $1.09 billion on illegal wagers on the Premier League season alone.